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Fetuin-A, a hepatic-origin protein, is strongly positively associated with risk of type 2 diabetes in human observational studies, but it is unknown whether this association is causal. We aimed to study the potential causal relation of circulating fetuin-A to risk of type 2 diabetes in a Mendelian randomization study with single nucleotide polymorphisms located in the fetuin-A–encoding AHSG gene.
Background: Although chronic breathlessness is common in life-limiting illnesses, validated feasible instruments to measure functional impact of the symptom in this population are scarce. We aimed to validate the Dyspnea Exertion Scale (DES) compared with the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) breathlessness scale for test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, and responsiveness in people
Sexual activity is important to older adults (65 +). Breathlessness affects about 25% of older adults but impact on sexual activity is unknown. We evaluated the relationships between breathlessness and sexual inactivity and self-reported health among older community-dwelling adults in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Associations between self-reported breathlessness (hurrying on level
Long-term tobacco smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or chronic bronchitis display an excessive accumulation of neutrophils in the airways; an inflammation that responds poorly to established therapy. Thus, there is a need to identify new molecular targets for the development of effective therapy. Here, we hypothesized that the neutrophil-mobilizing cytokine interleukin (IL)
There is consensus that definitive therapy for infections with H. influenzae should include antimicrobial agents with clinical breakpoints against the bacterium. In Scandinavia, benzylpenicillin is the recommended empirical treatment for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) except in very severe cases. However, the effect of benzylpenicillin on H. influenzae infections has been debated. The aim of t
Controlled doping in semiconductor nanowires modifies their electrical and optical properties, which are important for high efficiency optoelectronic devices. We have grown n-type (Sn) doped GaAs nanowires in Aerotaxy, a new continuous gas phase mass production technique. The morphology of Sn doped nanowires is found to be a strong function of dopant, tetraethyltin to trimethylgallium flow ratio,
Objectives Concerns have been raised about poor-quality palliative care research and low publication rate from conference abstracts. The study objectives: to estimate the publication rate for European Association for Palliative Care research conference abstracts (2008) and explore associated characteristics and to understand reasons for non-publication. Methods Full published papers were searched
Background: Chronic low-grade inflammation and associated insulin resistance and metabolic abnormalities have been proposed as 'common soil' for diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This paper aimed to investigate the inflammatory profiles of DM and CVD and to distinguish their shared and specific markers. Methods: Based on the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort, total and differenti
Executive functions (EFs) are essential in almost all aspects of daily life and have been robustly related to antisocial behavior. However, the relationship between psychopathy and EFs has remained equivocal. Research investigating lower-level trait dimensions of psychopathy using standardized EF measures could be beneficial in addressing this issue. In this study, we examined associations between
Understanding nanoparticle catalysis requires novel approaches in which adjoining crystal orientations can be studied under the same reactive conditions. Here we use a curved palladium crystal and near-ambient pressure X-ray photoemission spectroscopy to characterize chemical species during the catalytic oxidation of CO in a whole set of surfaces vicinal to the (111) direction simultaneously. By s
Background Underweight, overweight, and obesity in childhood and adolescence are associated with adverse health consequences throughout the life-course. Our aim was to estimate worldwide trends in mean body-mass index (BMI) and a comprehensive set of BMI categories that cover underweight to obesity in children and adolescents, and to compare trends with those of adults. Methods We pooled 2416 popu
Molecular junctions offer unique opportunities for controlling charge transport on the atomic scale and for studying energy conversion. For example, quantum interference effects in molecular junctions have been proposed as an avenue for highly efficient thermoelectric power conversion at room temperature. Toward this goal, we investigated the effect of quantum interference on the thermoelectric pr
Breathlessness that persists despite treatment for the underlying conditions is debilitating. Identifying this discrete entity as a clinical syndrome should raise awareness amongst patients, clinicians, service providers, researchers and research funders.Using the Delphi method, questions and statements were generated via expert group consultations and one-to-one interviews (n=17). These were subs
This study explores the impact an exogenous improvement in childhood health has on later-life outcomes. Using extensive and detailed register data from the Swedish Interdisciplinary Panel, we follow individuals exposed to the introduction of the first vaccine against polio in Sweden (birth cohorts 1937-1966) until adulthood in order to quantify the causal effect of polio vaccination on long-term e
Background: Interatrial block (IAB) is an ECG indicator of atrial fibrosis related to atrial remodeling and thrombus formation thus leading to embolic stroke and increasing mortality. We aimed to assess weather IAB predicted all-cause mortality during 10 years after ischemic stroke. Methods: The study sample comprised 235 patients (median age 74 (interquartile range 25-75% 65-81) years, 95 female)
Growing GaAs nanowires with well-defined crystal structures is a challenging task, but may be required for the fabrication of future devices. In terms of crystal phase selection, the connection between theory and experiment is limited, leaving experimentalists with a trial and error approach to achieve the desired crystal structures. In this work, we present a modeling approach designed to provide
Introduction: Traditional validation of umbilical cord blood samples with positive veno-arterial ΔpH and arterio-venous ΔpCO2 values confirms the source of samples, whereas negative Δvalues represent mix-up of samples. To investigate whether this is true, the distributions of V-A ΔpO2 and A-V Δlactate were also explored and related to clinical characteristics. In addition, different cord blood sam
When measuring inequality using conventional inequality measures, ethical assumptions about distributional preferences are often implicitly made. In this paper, we ask whether the ethical assumptions underlying the concentration index for income-related inequality in health and the Gini index for income inequality are supported in a representative sample of the Swedish population using an internet
Extended blood group genotyping is an invaluable tool used for prevention of alloimmunization. Genotyping is particularly suitable when antigens are weak, specific antisera are unavailable, or accurate phenotyping is problematic because of a disease state or recent transfusions. In addition, genotyping facilitates establishment of mass-scale patient-matched donor databases. However, standardizatio
