Friesland College

The introduction writing is very repetitive (introduction is told three times); the theoretical background is more a listing of the equipment used, not theoretical background. Probably renaming it to 'components' will solve this, and then it is actually a good piece of text. In 3.3, the text is about an ultrasonic sensor at a distance of 60 cm, instead of a noise sensor. This is a bit strange to use as a 'noise' detection. Also, the ultrasound sensor is not shown in the 'theory' list. There is no code listing, which is necessary for such a project, and the ESP8266 is not used; also, the implementation into Blynk is not shown. There is no IoT used, so the title does not reflect the content. I advise rewriting the text and changing the title. The overall level is high school.

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are small adaptor RNAs essential for mRNA translation. Alterations in the cellular tRNA population can directly affect mRNA decoding rates and translational efficiency during cancer development and progression. To evaluate changes in the composition of the tRNA pool, multiple sequencing approaches have been developed to overcome reverse transcription blocks caused by the stable structures of these molecules and their numerous base modifications. However, it remains unclear whether current sequencing protocols faithfully capture tRNAs existing in cells or tissues. This is specifically challenging for clinical tissue samples that often present variable RNA qualities. For this reason, we developed ALL-tRNAseq, which combines the highly processive MarathonRT and RNA demethylation for the robust assessment of tRNA expression, together with a randomized adapter ligation strategy prior to reverse transcription to assess tRNA fragmentation levels in both cell lines and tissues. Incorporation of tRNA fragments not only informed on sample integrity but also significantly improved tRNA profiling of tissue samples. Our data showed that our profiling strategy effectively improves classification of oncogenic signatures in glioblastoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma tissues, particularly for samples presenting higher levels of RNA fragmentation, further highlighting the utility of ALL-tRNAseq for translational research.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common among farmers, yet associated difficulty during work is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to determine the connection between MSDs and work-related task difficulty in rural Saskatchewan. Rural Saskatchewan farmers and farm workers with history of MSD in the last 5 years ( n = 72) participated via an online survey. Shoulder MSDs were the most common (75%), followed by neck (65%), knees (61%), and lower back (58%). Many participants reported more than one MSD. Presence of MSDs leads to difficulty in work tasks; for example, difficulty when operating power tools with hands was 8.7 times more likely for those with shoulder MSD. MSDs in rural Saskatchewan farmers are associated with greater work task difficulty, and future research into risk factors related to those tasks can guide prevention strategies.

Active surveillance after neoadjuvant treatment is increasingly implemented. The success of this strategy relies on the accurate detection of residual cancer. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic value of a second (bite-on-bite) biopsy for the detection of residual esophageal cancer and to correlate outcomes to the distribution of residual cancer found in the resection specimen. A multicenter prospective study of esophageal cancer patients undergoing active surveillance after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy was performed. At clinical response evaluations, an upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy was performed with at least four bite-on-bite biopsies of the primary tumor site. First and second biopsies were analyzed separately. Patients with histopathological evidence of residual cancer were included in the primary analysis. Two pathologists blinded for biopsy outcome examined all resection specimens. Between October 2017 and July 2020, 626 upper GI endoscopies were performed in 367 patients. Of 138 patients with residual cancer, 112 patients (81 %) had at least one positive biopsy. In 14 patients (10 %) only the first biopsy was positive and in 25 patients (18 %) only the second biopsy (P = 0.11). Remarkably, the rates of patients with tumor-free mucosa and deeper located tumors were higher in patients detected by the first biopsy. The second biopsy increased the false-positive rate by 3 percentage points. No adverse events occurred. A second (bite-on-bite) biopsy improves the detection of residual esophageal cancer by almost 20 percentage points, at the expense of increasing the false-positive rate by 3 percentage points. The higher detection rate is explained by the higher number of biopsies obtained rather than by the penetration depth.

The a priori risk for infections in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is unknown. This study examines prescription rates of anti‐infective agents in MDS patients before and after diagnosis, in both in‐ and outpatient settings, to provide information on infection management in clinical practice.We performed a population‐based study using the HemoBase registry, containing data of all MDS patients diagnosed since 2005 in Friesland, the Netherlands. Community and hospital pharmacies provided prescription data from 1995 to 2020.Data were obtained for 203 of 292 patients (70%). Patients received significantly more anti‐infective agents, predominantly antibacterials (70%), after diagnosis compared to before: 148.7 defined daily dose/1000 days (DID) (95% CI: 146.9–150.5) and 55.1 DID (95% CI: 54.5–55.8, p < 0.01), respectively, corresponding to median 23.5 and 7.6 treatment days/year. Higher‐risk (449.9 DID) and lower‐risk patients (129.1 DID) both received significantly more anti‐infective agents after diagnosis; comorbidities, neutropenia, and age did not show significant differences relative to prescription rates. Before diagnosis, 10% of patients had infection‐related hospital admissions versus 38% after diagnosis.In conclusion, MDS patients received significantly more anti‐infective agents compared to before diagnosis. This is the first study that has quantified the prescription rate of anti‐infective agents within and beyond the clinical setting in MDS.

Simple SummaryPatients with primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS) are at risk of developing extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (ENMZL) of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) in the parotid glands. The genetic mechanism underlying development of MALT lymphoma in the context of pSS is unknown. The aim of our study was to define the genomic landscape of pSS-associated MALT lymphoma. For 17 localized pSS-associated MALT lymphomas, we analyzed the presence of nonsynonymous mutations, copy number alterations (CNAs) and MALT1 translocations. pSS-associated MALT lymphomas were characterized by a low mutational load (median number of nonsynonymous somatic variants per case was 7, range 2–78) and a limited number of CNAs. Unlike the recurrent genomic aberrations observed in MALT lymphoma, which were not associated with pSS, pSS-associated MALT lacked a clear lymphoma-related profile. The data suggest that localized pSS-associated MALT lymphomas are a distinct type of ENMZL, which are genomically stable and most likely depend on a stimulatory micro-environment.Patients with primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS) are at risk of developing extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (ENMZL) of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) in the parotid glands. Unlike recurrent genomic aberrations observed in MALT lymphoma, which were not associated with pSS (non-pSS), it is unknown which somatic aberrations underlie the development of pSS-associated MALT lymphomas. Whole-exome sequencing was performed on 17 pSS-associated MALT lymphomas. In total, 222 nonsynonymous somatic variants affecting 182 genes were identified across the 17 cases. The median number of variants was seven (range 2–78), including three cases with a relatively high mutational load (≥24/case). Out of 16 recurrently mutated genes, ID3, TBL1XR1, PAX5, IGLL5 and APC are known to be associated with lymphomagenesis. A total of 18 copy number alterations were detected in eight cases. MALT1 translocations were not detected. With respect to outcome, only two cases relapsed outside of the salivary glands. Both had a high mutational load, suggesting a more advanced stage of lymphoma. The low mutational load and lack of a clear lymphoma-related mutation profile suggests that localized pSS-associated MALT lymphomas are genomically more stable than non-pSS MALT lymphomas and most likely depend on a stimulatory micro-environment.

Recent studies show that whole specimen intraoperative frozen section analysis (WIFSA) is a reliable method for margin analysis in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and has low recurrence rates after five-years follow-up. There are no studies with longer follow-up. Our aim is to present long-term recurrence rates after WIFSA. All patients with a facial BCC receiving excision with WIFSA between 1992 and 2007 were evaluated. Recurrence rates were examined for primary BCC (pBCC), recurrent BCCs (rBCC), and the different histological subtypes. The accuracy of WIFSA was assessed by comparing with formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded section analysis. A total of 1140 patients with 1265 BCCs underwent excision with WIFSA, with a median and maximum follow-up of 10 and 25.3 years, respectively. Of all tumors, 90.0% were primary. Excisions were radical after an average of 1.4 excision rounds;5, 10, and 15-year recurrence rates for pBCCs are 3.3%, 5.1%, and 7.3%, respectively. An aggressive growth pattern and rBCCs are associated with more recurrences. The accuracy of WIFSA is 98.4%. WIFSA provides a highly accurate analysis and has a low recurrence rate for primary BCCs. The increasing recurrence rates over time imply 5 years of follow-up may be insufficient.