Digital Technology and design processes II: Follow-up report on FabLab@School survey among Danish youth

This report is part of the [email protected] research program, which investigates the use of digital fabrication technologies and design activities among students aged 11-15 years in Danish schools. In order to measure the effects of the [email protected] educational program from 2014 to late 2016, this follow-up survey was administered to two groups: first, schools in which FabLab and design activities had been carried out in the [email protected] project throughout a 2-year period (FabLab schools), and second, a control group of schools that were not part of the [email protected] project (control schools). The survey reported here, is a follow-up to a similar survey conducted in the fall of 2014

First Danish Single-Institution Experience with Radical Prostatectomy: Biochemical Outcome in 1200 Consecutive Patients

Radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) as intended curative therapy for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer (PC) was initiated in 1995 in Denmark. This paper reports single-institution results from the first 1200 consecutive patients operated during a 15-year period. Median age at surgery was 63 years. Median PSA was 9 ng/mL. Palpable tumors (≤cT2) were present in 48% of patients. Gleason score at biopsy was ≤7 for 85% of patients. In sixty-five percent of patients, histopathology revealed localized PCa after RRP. Positive surgical margins were found in 39.2% of the cases. Biochemical recurrence (BR) occurred for 214 (18%) of patients. The estimated biochemical recurrence free survival (BRFS) was 71.7% and 63.2% after 5 and 10 years, respectively. When patients were stratified according to the D'Amico criteria, BRFS after 10 years was 75.3%, 59.7%, and 39.3% for low-, medium- and high-risk patients, respectively. In univariate analysis, clinical stage, PSA at diagnosis and type of surgery were significant predictors of BR. In multivariate analysis, Gleason score > 7, PSA > 10, and higher clinical stage were significant predictors of BR. Early Danish results in a population not subjected to screening demonstrate BRFS rates comparable with earlier reports from the prescreening era

Prevalence of airflow obstruction in patients with stable systolic heart failure

Abstract Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an important differential diagnosis in heart failure (HF). However, routine use of spirometry in outpatient HF clinics is not implemented. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of both airflow obstruction and non obstructive lung function impairment in patients with HF and to examine the effect of optimal medical treatment for HF on lung function parameters. Methods Consecutive patients with HF (ejection fraction (EF)\u2009<\u200945%) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II-IV at 10 different outpatient heart failure clinics were examined with spirometry at their first visit and after optimal medical treatment for HF was achieved. airflow obstruction was classified and graded according to the GOLD 2011 revision. Results Baseline spirometry was performed in 593 included patients and 71 (12%) had a clinical diagnosis of COPD. Mean age was 69\u2009\ub1\u200911\ua0years and mean EF was 30\u2009\ub1\u20099%. Thirty-two % of the patients were active smokers and 53% were previous smokers. Mean FEV 1 and FVC was 77.9\u2009\ub1\u20091.7% and 85.4\u2009\ub1\u20091.5% of predicted respectively. Obstructive pattern was observed in 233 (39%) of the patients. Of these, 53 patients (9%) had mild disease (GOLD I) and 180 (30%) patients had moderate to very severe disease (GOLD II-IV). No difference in spirometric variables was observed following up titration of medication. Conclusion In stable patients with HF airflow obstruction is frequent and severely underdiagnosed. Spirometry should be considered in all patients with HF in order to improve diagnosis and treatment for concomitant pulmonary disease

Digital Technology and design processes: Report on a FabLab@School survey among Danish youth

This report contains findings from a survey on Danish adolescents aged 11-15 years conducted in the fall of 2014 among 1236 students. It is a part of the [email protected] research program, which investigates the use of digital fabrication technologies in Danish schools

Anti-biofilm Approach in Infective Endocarditis Exposes New Treatment Strategies for Improved Outcome

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a life-threatening infective disease with increasing incidence worldwide. From early on, in the antibiotic era, it was recognized that high-dose and long-term antibiotic therapy was correlated to improved outcome. In addition, for several of the common microbial IE etiologies, the use of combination antibiotic therapy further improves outcome. IE vegetations on affected heart valves from patients and experimental animal models resemble biofilm infections. Besides the recalcitrant nature of IE, the microorganisms often present in an aggregated form, and gradients of bacterial activity in the vegetations can be observed. Even after appropriate antibiotic therapy, such microbial formations can often be identified in surgically removed, infected heart valves. Therefore, persistent or recurrent cases of IE, after apparent initial infection control, can be related to biofilm formation in the heart valve vegetations. On this background, the present review will describe potentially novel non-antibiotic, antimicrobial approaches in IE, with special focus on anti-thrombotic strategies and hyperbaric oxygen therapy targeting the biofilm formation of the infected heart valves caused by Staphylococcus aureus. The format is translational from preclinical models to actual clinical treatment strategies