Pepsin-like aspartic proteases (PAPs) are a class of aspartic proteases which shares tremendous structural similarity with human pepsin. One of the key structural features of PAPs is the presence of a β-hairpin motif otherwise known as flap. The biological function of the PAPs is highly dependent on the conformational dynamics of the flap region. In apo PAPs, the conformational dynamics of the fla

Postpartum hemorrhage is responsible for one fourth of the maternal mortality worldwide. In high resource countries there is an increasing trend in frequency of postpartum hemorrhage and need of blood transfusions. The reason for this increase is probably multifactorial. Major bleeding requires massive blood transfusion (MT), defined as transfusion of >10 units of erythrocytes within 24 hours. In

Drought is a major natural hazard in the Bolivian Altiplano that causes large agricultural losses. However, the drought effect on agriculture varies largely on a local scale due to diverse factors such as climatological and hydrological conditions, sensitivity of crop yield to water stress, and crop phenological stage among others. To improve the knowledge of drought impact on agriculture, this st

AIM: To study the characteristics and outcome among cardiac arrest cases with COVID-19 and differences between the pre-pandemic and the pandemic period in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). METHOD AND RESULTS: We included all patients reported to the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation from 1 January to 20 July 2020. We defined 16 March 2020

Hybrid superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures are promising platforms for realizing topological superconductors and exploring Majorana bound state physics. Motivated by recent experimental progress, we theoretically study how magnetic insulators offer an alternative to the use of external magnetic fields for reaching the topological regime. We consider different setups, where (1) the magnet

Ferroelectric memories based on hafnium oxide are an attractive alternative to conventional memory technologies due to their scalability and energy efficiency. However, there are still many open questions regarding the optimal material stack and processing conditions for reliable device performance. Here, we report on the impact of the sputtering process conditions of the commonly used TiN top ele

Background: Chronic pain (CP) has serious medical and social consequences and leads to economic burden that threatens the sustainability of healthcare services. Thus, optimized management of pain tools to support CP patients in adjusting to their condition and improving their quality of life is timely. Although acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is considered an evidence-based psychological a

Purpose—Ischemic myocardial contracture (IMC) or ‘‘stoneheart’’ is a condition with rapid onset following circulatory death. It inhibits transplantability of hearts donated uponcirculatory death (DCD). We investigate the effectiveness of hemodynamic normalization upon withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (WLST) in a large-animal controlled DCD model, with the hypothesis that reduction in cardiac

CONTEXT: Oral once-daily dual-release hydrocortisone (DR-HC) replacement therapy has demonstrated an improved metabolic profile compared to conventional 3-times-daily (TID-HC) therapy among patients with primary adrenal insufficiency. This effect might be related to a more physiological cortisol profile, but also to a modified pattern of cortisol metabolism. OBJECTIVE: This work aimed to study cor

Organisms use circadian rhythms to anticipate and exploit daily environmental oscillations. While circadian rhythms are of clear importance for inhabitants of tropic and temperate latitudes, its role for permanent residents of the polar regions is less well understood. The high Arctic Svalbard ptarmigan shows behavioral rhythmicity in presence of light-dark cycles but is arrhythmic during the pola

CONTEXT: Understanding factors involved in the rate of C-peptide decline is needed to tailor therapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D). OBJECTIVE: Evaluate factors associated with rate of C-peptide decline after a T1D diagnosis in young children. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Academic centers. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 57 participants from the Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (

BACKGROUND: There are marked geographical variations in the proportion of patients undergoing resection for gastric cancer. This study investigated the impact of resection rate on survival. METHODS: All patients with potentially curable gastric cancer between 2006 and 2017 were identified from the Swedish National Register of Oesophageal and Gastric Cancer. The annual resection rate was calculated

BACKGROUND: Bile duct injury (BDI) is a severe complication following cholecystectomy. Early recognition and treatment of BDI has been shown to reduce costs and improve patients' quality of life. The aim of this study was to assess the effect and cost-effectiveness of routine versus selective intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) in cholecystectomy. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis, c

α1-microglobulin (A1M) is found in all vertebrates including humans. A1M was, together with retinol-binding protein and β-lactoglobulin, one of the three original lipocalins when the family first was proposed in 1985. A1M is described as an antioxidant and tissue cleaning protein with reductase, heme- and radical-binding activities. These biochemical properties are driven by a strongly electronega

This study attempts to apply computational methods to the Twitter Election Integrity Datasets in order to derive a basic descriptive overview of this disinformation data, and to suggest some possible routes for developing these methods to address future research questions. The results indicate substantial variations in tweet frequency over time and geographical regions, as well as differences in r

Background: Obesity and associated metabolic conditions impact adipocyte functionality with potential consequences for breast cancer risk and prognosis, but contributing mechanisms remain to be understood. The adipokine receptor adenylyl cyclase-associated protein-1 (CAP1) has been implicated in the progression of breast cancer, but results are conflicting and the underlying molecular mechanisms a

Persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD) need to adapt to their progressive disability to achieve and maintain a high degree of life satisfaction (LS), but little is known about the meaning of LS and adaptation. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the meaning of LS and adaptation in persons with PD. Open-ended in-depth interviews were performed with 13 persons diagnosed with PD, 9 w

Nitrogen (N) fertilization in forests has the potential to increase tree growth and carbon (C) sequestration, but it also means a risk of N leaching. Dynamic models can, if the important processes are well described, play an important role in assessing benefits and risks of nitrogen fertili-zation. The aim of this study was to test if the ForSAFE model is able to simulate correctly the effects of