Calcination-based direct extraction of hydroxyapatite from bovine bone waste.

The main chemical components of waste cow bones are apatite minerals, especially those containing calcium and phosphorus. This study investigated whether this bone could produce extracted hydroxyapatite through calcining at 900° C for different holding times (1-6 h). An average mass loss of 45% occurred in this experiment during the preparation of bone powders, which involved crushing and further calcining at this temperature. The quantitative XRD analysis showed that 99.97 wt.% hydroxyapatite and over 0.3 wt.% calcite were present in the raw and as-calcined bone powders, with trace amounts of CaFe3O5 (calcium ferrite) phases appearing in the calcined product. Depending on the holding calcining times, SEM images of the calcined bovine powders revealed aggregate sizes ranging from 0.5-3 µm and crystallite (grain) sizes ranging from 70 to 340 nm in all calcium-phosphate powder products. Following EDX analysis of all sample surfaces, possible calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite instead of hydroxyapatite formed, as evidenced by the calcined product's Ca/P ratio exceeding 1.67. Additionally, calcining cow bones for 5-6 h at 900° C yielded a high-purity nano-crystalline hydroxyapatite powder precursor in biomedical applications.

In-depth knowledge of the low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite from waste green mussel shell (Perna Viridis).

ABSTRACTThis study presents the use of a low-temperature hydrothermal method for extracting calcium sources from green mussel shell (P. Viridis) wastes and converting them into synthetic nanosized hydroxyapatite (HA). In this study, raw mussel shells were washed, pulverised, and sieved to start producing a fine calcium carbonate-rich powder. XRD quantitative analysis confirmed that the powder contains 97.6 wt. % aragonite. This powder was then calcined for 5 h at 900 °C to remove water, salt, and mud, yielding a calcium-rich feedstock with major minerals of calcite (68.7 wt.%), portlandite (24.7 wt.%), and minor aragonite (6.5 wt.%). The calcined powders were dissolved in aqueous stock solutions of HNO3 and NH4OH before hydrothermally reacting with phosphoric acid [(NH4)2HPO4], yielding pure, nanoscale (16-18 nm) carbonated HA crystals, according to XRD, FT-IR, and SEM analyses. The use of a low-temperature hydrothermal method for a feedstock powder produced by the calcination of low-cost mussel shell wastes would be a valuable processing approach for the industry's development of large-scale hydroxyapatite nanoparticle production.

Bone mineral content for preterm neonates treated with caffeine using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry: An observational study.

BACKGROUND: Prematurity is associated with lots of comorbidities. Premature neonates also have lower bone mineral content (BMC) compared to term neonates. Apnea of prematurity is a common complication and caffeine citrate is widely used for its prevention and treatment. Caffeine also affects creatinine clearance, urine flow rate and releases calcium from its storage sites. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to assess BMC in preterm neonates treated with caffeine using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Secondary objectives were to determine whether caffeine therapy is associated with increased incidence of nephrocalcinosis or bone fracture. METHODS: Prospective observational study on 42 preterm neonates, 34 weeks' gestation or less; 22 of them received intravenous caffeine (caffeine group) and 20 did not (control group). Serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and creatinine, abdominal ultrasonography, and DEXA scan were done for all included neonates. RESULTS: BMC showed significant lower levels in the caffeine compared to control group (p = 0.017). Additionally, BMC was significantly lower in neonates who received caffeine for more than 14 days compared to those who received it for 14 days or less(p = 0.04). BMC showed significant positive correlation to birth weight, gestational age, serum P and significant negative correlation to serum ALP. Caffeine therapy duration was negatively correlated to BMC (r = -0.370, p = 0.000) and positively correlated to serum ALP levels (r = 0.667, p = 0.001). None of the neonates had nephrocalcinosis. CONCLUSIONS: Caffeine administration for more than 14 days in preterm neonates may be associated with lower BMC but not nephrocalcinosis or bone fracture.

Individual patient data to allow a more elaborated comparison of trial results with real-world outcomes from first-line immunotherapy in NSCLC.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have compared real-world clinical outcomes of immunotherapy in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with reported outcomes data from pivotal trials. However, any differences observed could be only limitedly explored further for causation because of the unavailability of individual patient data (IPD) from trial participants. The present study aims to explore the additional benefit of comparison with IPD. METHODS: This study compares progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of metastatic NSCLC patients treated with second line nivolumab in real-world clinical practice (n = 141) with IPD from participants in the Checkmate-057 clinical trial (n = 292). Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to construct HRs for real-world practice versus clinical trial. RESULTS: Real-world patients were older (64 vs. 61 years), had more often ECOG PS ≥ 2 (5 vs. 0%) and were less often treated with subsequent anti-cancer treatment (28.4 vs. 42.5%) compared to trial patients. The median PFS in real-world patients was longer (3.84 (95%CI: 3.19-5.49) vs 2.30 (2.20-3.50) months) and the OS shorter than in trial participants (8.25 (6.93-13.2) vs. 12.2 (9.90-15.1) months). Adjustment with available patient characteristics, led to a shift in the hazard ratio (HR) for OS, but not for PFS (HRs from 1.13 (0.88-1.44) to 1.07 (0.83-1.38), and from 0.82 (0.66-1.03) to 0.79 (0.63-1.00), respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study is an example how IPD from both real-world and trial patients can be applied to search for factors that could explain an efficacy-effectiveness gap. Making IPD from clinical trials available to the international research community allows this.

A differentiable approach to the maximum independent set problem using dataless neural networks.

The success of machine learning solutions for reasoning about discrete structures has brought attention to its adoption within combinatorial optimization algorithms. Such approaches generally rely on supervised learning by leveraging datasets of the combinatorial structures of interest drawn from some distribution of problem instances. Reinforcement learning has also been employed to find such structures. In this paper, we propose a different approach in that no data is required for training the neural networks that produce the solution. In this sense, what we present is not a machine learning solution, but rather one that is dependent on neural networks and where backpropagation is applied to a loss function defined by the structure of the neural network architecture as opposed to a training dataset. In particular, we reduce the popular combinatorial optimization problem of finding a maximum independent set to a neural network and employ a dataless training scheme to refine the parameters of the network such that those parameters yield the structure of interest. Additionally, we propose a universal graph reduction procedure to handle large-scale graphs. The reduction exploits community detection for graph partitioning and is applicable to any graph type and/or density. Experimental results on both real and synthetic graphs demonstrate that our proposed method performs on par or outperforms state-of-the-art learning-based methods in terms of the size of the found set without requiring any training data.

Practical insights into the recycling of green mussel shells (Perna Viridis) for the production of precipitated calcium carbonate.

The study presented a powder processing method involving calcination and subsequent carbonation in the synthesis of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) for recycling green mussel shells, which contain a high calcium carbonate content. The purity of portlandite [Ca(OH)2] as a result of calcination and subsequent moisture absorption during storage was verified using the XRD-Rietveld method. Further quantitative XRD Rietveld analysis of the PCC product confirmed the presence of vaterite (55.20 wt.%) and calcite (44.80 wt.%) minerals after carbonation process of the calcined powder product. The SEM examination of this product revealed particle aggregates of non-uniform polyhedral and cubical grains of varying small and large sizes. The FTIR analysis also confirmed that calcination and subsequent hydration of mussel shell powder yielded pure portlandite, whereas the carbonation yielded PCC polymorphism. As a result, this powder processing method is simple to scale and reduces the cost of PCC synthesis, which is critical for practical applications. The current study demonstrated that the powder processing method for recycling green mussel shells as starting materials in biomedical applications is technically feasible.

Prevalence of hyperuricemia and the relationship between serum uric acid concentrations and lipid parameters among King Abdulaziz University Hospital patients.

Background: Several studies have associated uric acid with dyslipidemia. However, no previous studies have examined patients without chronic illness. Aim: : The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between serum uric acid concentration and lipid profile parameters and to estimate the prevalence of hyperuricemia in the city of Jeddah. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 1206 patients who undergone laboratory blood testing over a 3-year period (2018-2020) at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, which was ethically approved. We used a predesigned checklist to collect data from electronic hospital records using Google Forms. Bivariate analysis, tables, and graphs were used to represent and identify the relationships between variables. A P value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Our study revealed a prevalence of 12% for hyperuricemia in the study population. Males were more frequently affected than females (8.13% vs. 3.73%, respectively). There was no association between serum uric acid concentration and lipid profile parameters, including total cholesterol (P = 0.92), triglyceride (P = 0.42), high-density lipoprotein (P = 0.47), and low-density lipoprotein (P = 0.66). There was a strong association between serum uric acid concentration and high body mass index (P < 0.001), older age (P = 0.002), male sex (P < 0.001), and nationality (P < 0.001). Furthermore, there was an association between sex and mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P = 0.02) and mean triglyceride concentration (P = 0.02). Conclusion: We observed a low prevalence of hyperuricemia, and our results indicate no association between serum uric acid concentration and lipid profile parameters.

Factors associated with hospital admission and adverse outcome for COVID-19: Role of social factors and medical care.

BACKGROUND: Beyond sex, age, and various comorbidities, geographical origin and socioeconomic deprivation are associated with Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) morbidity and mortality in the general population. We aimed to assess factors associated with severe forms of COVID-19 after a hospital emergency department visit, focusing on socioeconomic factors. METHODS: Patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 attending the emergency department of Béclère Hospital (France) in March-April 2020 were included. Postal addresses were used to obtain two geographical deprivation indices at the neighborhood level. Factors associated with hospitalization and factors associated with adverse outcomes, i.e. mechanical ventilation or death, were studied using logistic and Cox analyses, respectively. RESULTS: Among 399 included patients, 321 were hospitalized. Neither geographical origin nor socioeconomic deprivation was associated with any of the outcomes. Being male, older, overweight or obese, diabetic, or having a neuropsychiatric disorder were independent risk factors for hospitalization. Among 296 patients hospitalized at Béclère Hospital, 91 experienced an adverse outcome. Older age, being overweight or obese, desaturation and extent of chest CT scan lesions>25% at admission (aHR: 2.2 [95% CI: 1.3-3.5]) and higher peak CRP levels and acute kidney failure (aHR: 2.0 [1.2-3.3]) during follow-up were independently associated with adverse outcomes, whereas treatment with hydrocortisone reduced the risk of mechanical ventilation or death by half (aHR: 0.5 [0.3-0.8]). CONCLUSION: No association between geographical origin or socioeconomic deprivation and the occurrence of a severe form of COVID-19 was observed in our population after arrival to the emergency department. Empirical corticosteroid use with hydrocortisone had a strong protective impact.

Reconstruction of the artificial knee joint using a reverse engineering approach based on computer-aided design.

A greater flexion angle in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is desirable for replacing the human knee joint damage of people living in the Middle East and Asian regions. This flexion angle is a significant clinical factor affecting the range of motion for patients. Therefore, this study aims to optimise the flexion angle in the design of the Artificial Knee Joint (AKJ) by tailoring the Posterior tibial slope (PTS) and thickness of the Posterior Femoral Condyle (PFC). The 3D CAD model of AKJ was obtained from the reverse engineering (RE) process. Furthermore, the physical model used as a standard implant produced by DePuy, Cruciate Substituting (CS)-Revision type. The obtained 3D models were subsequently converted into CAD for the reconstruction process. Reconstruction of the CAD Model with the customised PTS and FPC components provided the flexion angle in the range of 149.9°-166.7°, which is required for the motion suitable for Middle Eastern and Asian people. The results may be used as a reference standard for doctors in hospitals or industries to design AKJ with Asian ergonomics.

Methylene blue versus vasopressin analog for refractory septic shock in the preterm neonate: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Refractory septic shock in neonates is still associated with high mortality, necessitating an alternative therapy, despite all currently available treatments. This study aims to assess the vasopressor effect of methylene blue (MB) in comparison to terlipressin (TP) as adjuvant therapy for refractory septic shock in the preterm neonate. METHODS: A double-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units at Ain Shams University, Egypt. Thirty preterm neonates with refractory septic shock were randomized to receive either MB or TP as an adjuvant to conventional therapy. Both MB and TP were administered as an intravenous loading dose followed by continuous intravenous infusion. The hemodynamic variables, functional echocardiographic variables, and oxidant stress marker were assessed over a 24 h period together with the side effects of MB. RESULTS: MB causes significant improvement in mean arterial blood pressure with a significant decrease of the norepinephrine requirements (1.15±0.21µm/kg/min at baseline vs. 0.55±0.15µm/kg/min at 24 h). MB infusion causes an increase of the pulmonary pressure (44.73±8.53 mmHg at baseline vs. 47.27±7.91 mmHg after 24 h) without affecting the cardiac output. Serum malonaldehyde decreased from 5.45±1.30 nmol/mL at baseline to 4.40±0.90 nmol/mL at 24 h in the MB group. CONCLUSION: Administration of MB to preterm infants with refractory septic shock showed rapid increases in systemic vascular resistance and arterial blood pressure with minimal side effects.

Palbociclib dose reductions and the effect on clinical outcomes in patients with advanced breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to provide insights into the real-world use of palbociclib, dose reductions, and drug effectiveness in (older) patients with advanced breast cancer (BC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with advanced BC treated with palbociclib from 2017 to 2020 were included. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate time to next treatment (TTNT) and overall survival (OS) for patients with or without dose reductions. These clinical outcomes were also compared in subgroup analyses for older patients (≥70 years) and younger patients (<70 years) and for patients discontinuing palbociclib early (<4 administrations). RESULTS: A total of 598 patients with advanced BC were included, with a median age of 64 years. Palbociclib dose reductions occurred in 33% of all patients. Early discontinuation of palbociclib without dose reductions occurred in 23% of the patients. Patients who required a palbociclib dose reduction were older (median age 67 years vs. 63 years). Patients with dose reductions had a significantly higher TTNT of 16.9 vs. 11.4 months (p < 0.001) and median OS of 29.7 vs. 21.9 months (p = 0.003) compared to patients without dose reductions. The TTNT in older patients was significantly longer (16.9 vs. 11.6 months, p = 0.013) than younger patients, but OS was similar (20.7 vs. 26.7 months, p = 0.051). CONCLUSION: Palbociclib dose reductions occurred in real-world practice similarly to the PALOMA-3 trial. Patients with dose reductions had no poorer outcomes compared to patients not requiring a dose reduction. Older patients treated with palbociclib had more frequent dose reductions, but this did not appear to affect OS.

Native Endophytic Pseudomonas putida as a Biocontrol Agent against Common Bean Rust Caused by Uromyces appendiculatus.

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of endophytic bacterium to control common bean rust disease under greenhouse conditions. Endophytic bacterium Pseudomonas putida ASU15 was isolated from fresh asymptomatic common bean, identified using biochemical and molecular characteristics. In vitro, the inhibitory effect of different concentrations of P. putida (1 × 104, 1 × 105 and 1 × 106), as well as fungicide ortiva (0.01%) on uredospores germination of Uromyces appendiculatus were tested using water agar medium. The concentration showing the highest reduction of uredospores germination was at 1 × 106, while there was complete inhibition of uredospores germination associated with using ortiva. Scanning electron microscope exhibited the ability of P. putida cells to attack the cell wall of the fungal uredospores germ tubes of U. appendiculatus, causing obvious cell wall breakdown. The activities of chitinase, lipase, and protease produced by P. putida ASU15, in vitro, were evaluated spectrophotometrically. Chitinolytic, proteolytic, and lipolytic activities were exhibited, contributing 55.26, 3.87, and 26.12 U/mL, respectively. Under greenhouse conditions, treated plants with P. putida ASU15 (two days before pathogen inoculation or at the same time of pathogen inoculation) or fungicide reduced the disease severity, compared to the control. Applying P. putida ASU15 at the same time of pathogen inoculation showed reduction in disease severity (69.9%), higher than application before pathogen inoculation (54.9%). This study is considered the first report that demonstrates the mycoparasitic strategy of P. putida for controlling U. appendiculatus. In conclusion, our results revealed that P. putida ASU15 affords a significant disease reduction that may be attributed to direct suppression of pathogen spores germination.

Egyptian clinical practice guideline for kidney transplantation.

Objective: To present the first Egyptian clinical practice guideline for kidney transplantation (KT). Methods: A panel of multidisciplinary subspecialties related to KT prepared this document. The sources of information included updates of six international guidelines, and review of several relevant international and Egyptian publications. All statements were graded according to the strength of clinical practice recommendation and the level of evidence. All recommendations were discussed by the panel members who represented most of the licensed Egyptian centres practicing KT. Results: Recommendations were given on preparation, surgical techniques and surgical complications of both donors and recipients. A special emphasis was made on the recipient's journey with immunosuppression. It starts with setting the scene by covering the donor and recipient evaluations, medicolegal requirements, recipient's protective vaccines, and risk assessment. It spans desensitisation and induction strategies to surgical approach and potential complications, options of maintenance immunosuppression, updated treatment of acute rejection and chemoprophylactic protocols. It ends with monitoring for potential complications of the recipient's suppressed immunity and the short- and long-term complications of immunosuppressive drugs. It highlights the importance of individualisation of immunosuppression strategies consistent with pre-KT risk assessment. It emphasises the all-important role of anti-human leucocyte antigen antibodies, particularly the donor-specific antibodies (DSAs), in acute and chronic rejection, and eventual graft and patient survival. It addresses the place of DSAs across the recipient's journey with his/her gift of life. Conclusion: This guideline introduces the first proposed standard of good clinical practice in the field of KT in Egypt. Abbreviations: Ab: antibody; ABMR: Ab-mediated rejection; ABO: ABO blood groups; BKV: BK polyomavirus; BMI: body mass index; BTS: British Transplantation Society; CAN: chronic allograft nephropathy; CDC: complement-dependent cytotoxicity; CKD: chronic kidney disease; CMV: cytomegalovirus; CNI: calcineurin inhibitor; CPRA: Calculated Panel Reactive Antibodies; (dn)DSA: (de novo) donor-specific antibodies; ECG: electrocardiogram; ESWL: extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy; FCM: flow cytometry; GBM: glomerular basement membrane; GN: glomerulonephritis; HIV: human immunodeficiency virus; HLA: human leucocyte antigen; HPV: human papilloma virus; IL2-RA: interleukin-2 receptor antagonist; IVIg: intravenous immunoglobulin; KT(C)(R): kidney transplantation/transplant (candidate) (recipient); (L)(O)LDN: (laparoscopic) (open) live-donor nephrectomy; MBD: metabolic bone disease; MCS: Mean channel shift (in FCM-XM); MFI: mean fluorescence intensity; MMF: mycophenolate mofetil; mTOR(i): mammalian target of rapamycin (inhibitor); NG: 'not graded'; PAP: Papanicolaou smear; PCN: percutaneous nephrostomy; PCNL: percutaneous nephrolithotomy; PKTU: post-KT urolithiasis; PLEX: plasma exchange; PRA: panel reactive antibodies; PSI: proliferation signal inhibitor; PTA: percutaneous transluminal angioplasty; RAS: renal artery stenosis; RAT: renal artery thrombosis;:rATG: rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin; RCT: randomised controlled trial; RIS: Relative MFI Score; RVT: renal vein thrombosis; TB: tuberculosis; TCMR: T-cell-mediated rejection; URS: ureterorenoscopy; (CD)US: (colour Doppler) ultrasonography; VCUG: voiding cystourethrogram; XM: cross match; ZN: Ziehl-Neelsen stain.

Translation, Validity, and Reliability of Mental Health Literacy and Help-Seeking Behavior Questionnaires in Indonesia.

Background and Aim: Mental health is an integral part of adolescent wellbeing. However, only few adolescents understand the importance of mental health and are aware of the right time to seek help. Lack of knowledge and stigma may impede help-seeking behavior. To assess these aspects, three questionnaires have been developed in the English language. This study aims to assess the validity and reliability of an Indonesian version of the Mental Health Literacy and Help-Seeking Behavior set of questionnaires among adolescents in Indonesia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that used The Mental Health Literacy and Help-Seeking Behavior set of questionnaires developed by Kutcher and Wei. The set consists of three questionnaires: the Mental Health Knowledge, Attitude Toward Mental Health, and Help-Seeking Behavior questionnaire. The study was conducted between October 2020 and January 2021 with 68 first-year medical students at the University of Indonesia, who represented adolescents in a transitional phase. The questionnaires were translated into the Indonesian language by a bilingual psychiatrist and reviewed by 10 expert psychiatrists to determine content validity [Item-Level Content Validity Index (I-CVI) and Scale-Level Content Validity Index (S-CVI)]. Cronbach's alpha values were used to assess internal consistency (reliability). Results: The content validity test produced positive results with an I-CVI scores of 0.7-1.0 and S-CVI scores of 0.87, 0.90, and 0.99 for the knowledge, attitude, and help-seeking behavior questionnaires, respectively. For the reliability test, Cronbach's alpha values were 0.780 for the attitude questionnaire and 0.852 for the help-seeking behavior questionnaire, while the value for the knowledge questionnaire was 0.521. Conclusion: The ability to properly measure mental health through the availability of accessible, valid, and understandable tools plays an important role in addressing mental health issues among adolescents. In the current study, the Indonesian translations of all three questionnaires examining knowledge, attitude, and help-seeking behavior were considered to be valid and reliable.

The associations between direct and delayed critical care unit admission with mortality and readmissions among patients with heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Although greater than 20% of patients hospitalized with heart failure (HF) are admitted to a critical care unit, associated outcomes, and costs have not been delineated. We determined 30-day mortality, 30-day readmissions, and hospital costs associated with direct or delayed critical care unit admission. METHODS: In a population-based analysis, we compared HF patients who were admitted to critical care directly from the emergency department (direct), after initial ward admission (delayed), or never admitted to critical care during their hospital stay (ward-only). RESULTS: Among 178,997 HF patients (median age 80 [IQR 71-86] years, 49.6% men) 36,175 (20.2%) were admitted to critical care during their hospitalization (April 2003 to March 2018). Critical care patients were admitted directly from the emergency department (direct, 81.9%) or after initial ward admission (delayed, 18.1%). Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for all-cause 30-day mortality were: 1.69 for direct (95% confidence interval [CI]; 1.55, 1.84) and 4.92 for delayed (95% CI; 4.26, 5.68) critical care-admitted compared to ward-only patients. Multivariable-adjusted repeated events analysis demonstrated increased risk for all-cause 30-day readmission with both direct (HR 1.04, 95% CI; 1.01, 1.08, P = .013) and delayed critical care unit admissions (HR 1.20, 95% CI; 1.13, 1.28, P < .001). Median 30-day costs were $12,163 for direct admissions, $20,173 for delayed admissions, and $9,575 for ward-only patients (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: While critical care unit admission indicates increased risk of mortality and readmission at 30 days, those who experienced delayed critical care unit admission exhibited the highest risk of death and highest costs of care.

The Dutch Lung Cancer Audit: Nationwide quality of care evaluation of lung cancer patients.

OBJECTIVES: This study describes the initiation of the Dutch Lung Cancer Audit for Lung Oncology (DLCA-L) and reports the first results of three years of clinical auditing. METHODS: The initiation, dataset, and data quality of the DLCA-L are described. For the analyses, all patients registered from 2017 to 2019 were included. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the first outcomes of the DLCA-L, including results from quality indicators, patient- and tumor characteristics, and the real-world use of immunotherapy. RESULTS: The DLCA-L was initiated after the surgery and radiotherapy audit for lung cancer. In total, 33.788 NSCLC patients and 4.293 SCLC patients were registered in the DLCA-L from 2017 to 2019. Seventy-three (97 %) Dutch hospitals participated in the DLCA-L in 2019. The registry became nation-wide in 2020. The data quality improved over the years, with complete cases in 90 % of the NSCLC patients. In total, 15 quality indicators were established based on DLCA-L data to improve processes and clinical outcomes. An example of these quality indicators was brain imaging at diagnosis of stage III NSCLC patients, which increased from 80 % in 2017 to 90 % in 2019 and hospital variation was reduced. The DLCA-L provided data on immunotherapy use in stage IV NSCLC (n = 4.415) patients. These patients had a median age of 67 years and 11 % of the patients had an ECOG PS ≥ 2. The number of patients treated with immunotherapy in different hospitals varied between 2 patients to 163 patients per hospital. CONCLUSION: The DLCA-L has become a valuable and complete data source with national coverage in 2020. A high number of registered patients and limited missing data resulted in better insights into hospital processes and outcomes of lung cancer care. Quality indicators were, with success, used to establish improvements and minimize hospital variation. The DLCA-L also provides hospitals real-world information on the use of (systemic) therapies.

Detection and distribution of anti-leptospiral antibody among dogs and their handlers.

The incidence of leptospirosis seems to be on the rise and could be an alarming indirect indication of a global re-emergence. It is a potential public health threat when dogs are speculated to be involved in the transmission of leptospirosis through possible subclinical harbouring of Leptospira spp. and subsequent shedding into the environment. This study aimed to detect anti-leptospiral antibodies among dogs and their handlers using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Blood samples from 266 apparently healthy dogs and 194 dog handlers were collected at four working dog organisations and four dog shelters. Serum samples were tested using MAT against 20 leptospiral serovars with a cut-off titre >=1:100 (dog) and >=1:50 (dog handlers). Seventy dogs (70/266; 26.3%) were seropositive mainly against serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae, Ballum, Bataviae and Javanica (titres ranged: 1:100-1:800). Sixty-seven dog handlers (67/194; 34.5%) were seropositive mainly against serovars Grippotyphosa, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Malaysia (titres ranged: 1:50-1:200). Dogs were seropositive due to exposure, vaccination or active infection. Seropositive dog handlers could indicate exposure or active infection. This shows the potential of dogs in maintaining and spreading the infection in Malaysia. Due to the occupational risk as a result of frequent contact with dogs and exposure to contaminated environments, dog handlers should be made aware of the presence of this zoonotic disease.

Detection and distribution of anti-leptospiral antibody among dogs and their handlers

@# The incidence of leptospirosis seems to be on the rise and could be an alarming indirect indication of a global re-emergence. It is a potential public health threat when dogs are speculated to be involved in the transmission of leptospirosis through possible subclinical harbouring of Leptospira spp. and subsequent shedding into the environment. This study aimed to detect anti-leptospiral antibodies among dogs and their handlers using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Blood samples from 266 apparently healthy dogs and 194 dog handlers were collected at four working dog organisations and four dog shelters. Serum samples were tested using MAT against 20 leptospiral serovars with a cut-off titre >1:100 (dog) and >1:50 (dog handlers). Seventy dogs (70/266; 26.3%) were seropositive mainly against serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae, Ballum, Bataviae and Javanica (titres ranged: 1:100–1:800). Sixty-seven dog handlers (67/194; 34.5%) were seropositive mainly against serovars Grippotyphosa, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Malaysia (titres ranged: 1:50–1:200). Dogs were seropositive due to exposure, vaccination or active infection. Seropositive dog handlers could indicate exposure or active infection. This shows the potential of dogs in maintaining and spreading the infection in Malaysia. Due to the occupational risk as a result of frequent contact with dogs and exposure to contaminated environments, dog handlers should be made aware of the presence of this zoonotic disease.