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Background: Previous studies showed that lifestyle behaviors (cigarette smoking, alcohol, coffee) are inversely associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). The prodromal phase of PD raises the possibility that these associations may be explained by reverse causation. Objective: To examine associations of lifestyle behaviors with PD using two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) and the potential for
Objective While the incidence of children suffering from autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D) is increasing in Sweden and worldwide, the underlying etiology and cellular mechanisms behind this remain unknown. The predisposition of the high-risk HLA DR-DQ genotype and as yet unknown environmental triggers lead to autoimmunity and the onset of T1D, which is preceded by islet beta-cell autoantibodies a
Background: Radium-223, an alpha-emitting therapeutic radiopharmaceutical, prolongs overall survival (OS) in patients with symptomatic bone-predominant metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). PSMA PET/CT is a molecular imaging tool for whole-body imaging of prostate cancer and may inform on the mechanisms of radium-223 activity and treatment resistance in mCRPC patients. Methods:
Background: Exposure to many contacts is the main risk factor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, while risk of serious disease and death is chiefly determined by old age and comorbidities. Relative and population-attributable fractions (PAFs) of multiple medical and social exposures for COVID-19 outcomes have not been evaluated among older adults. Objective
With the full-scale colonization of Hokkaido, home to the indigenous Ainu people, by the Japanese Meiji government (1868-1912), unprecedented ethnographic opportunities emerged for Western scientists and adventure-seekers. Literally dozens of such individuals “discovered” information about the Ainu and their homeland during this period, introducing European and American audiences to the subject th
The aim of the present study is twofold: to explore the assessment andintervention practices of Swedish practitioners (mainly Speech and LanguageTherapists: SLTs) for multilingual children with Developmental LanguageDisorders (DLD) and to explore to which extent they perceive themselves asconfident with respect to assessment and intervention. The data comes fromthe Swedish part of the survey by th
Corrosion in leak-tight plate structures, such as the containment liner in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), is detrimental to their operational state. To tackle this issue, the present work aims to assess the feasibility of using nonlinear ultrasound to detect corrosion. The corrosion product of main concern in the present study contains several microscopic and macroscopic cracks and delaminations. Th
BACKGROUND: Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a common cardiovascular autonomic disorder characterized by excessive heart rate (HR) increase on standing and symptoms of orthostatic intolerance, posing significant limitations on functional capacity. No objective tool exists to classify symptom burden in POTS.METHODS: We conducted a case-control study in 62 POTS patients and 50 hea
Mistletoes (Viscum) and close relatives are unique among flowering plants in having a drastically altered electron transport chain. Lack of complex I genes has previously been reported for the mitochondrial genome, and here we report an almost complete absence of nuclear-encoded complex I genes in the transcriptome of Viscum album. Compared to Arabidopsis with approximately 40 nuclear complex I ge
The precisionFDA Truth Challenge V2 aimed to assess the state-of-the-art of variant calling in difficult-to-map regions and the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). Starting with FASTQ files, 20 challenge participants applied their variant calling pipelines and submitted 64 variant callsets for one or more sequencing technologies (~35X Illumina, ~35X PacBio HiFi, and ~50X Oxford Nanopore Techno
Background: There is a lack of studies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in immigrants. Objective: The objective is to study the association between country of birth and incident ALS in first-generation immigrants versus Swedish-born individuals, and in second-generation immigrants versus native Swedes. Methods: Study populations included all adults aged 18 years and older in Sweden, in the f
In order to understand species’ sensitivity to habitat change, we must correctly determine if a species is associated with a habitat or not, and if it is associated, its degree of specialization for that habitat. However, definitions of species’ habitat association and specialization are often static, categorical classifications that coarsely define species as either habitat specialists or general
Introduction: Standardized and validated criteria to define advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) or identify patient eligibility for device-aided therapy are needed. This study assessed the psychometric properties of clinical indicators of advanced PD and eligibility for device-aided therapy in a large population. Methods: This retrospective analysis of the Adelphi Parkinson’s Disease Specific Progra
Introduction: The prognostic value of angina during exercise stress testing is controversial, possibly due to previous studies not differentiating typical from non-typical angina. We aimed to assess the prognostic value of typical angina alone, or in combination with ST depression, during exercise stress testing for predicting cardiovascular events. Methods: We conducted a prospective observationa
BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes is one of the leading causes of chronic kidney failure, which increases globally and represents a significant threat to public health. People from the Middle East represent one of the largest immigrant groups in Europe today. Despite poor glucose regulation and high risk for early-onset insulin-deficient type 2 diabetes, they have better kidney function and lower rates
Current immune-based therapies signify a major advancement in cancer therapy; yet, they are not effective in the majority of patients. Physically based local destruction techniques have been shown to induce immunologic effects and are increasingly used in order to improve the outcome of immunotherapies. The various local destruction methods have different modes of action and there is considerable
Background: Severe hereditary alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is a known risk factor for the early development of pulmonary emphysema and COPD, especially in smo-kers. By the Swedish national screening programme carried out from 1972 to 1974, a cohort of individuals with severe (PiZZ) AATD was identified and has been followed up regularly. The aim of this study was to investigate health stat
Background and Aims: We aimed to compare the risk of frailty in older adults with incident inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and matched non-IBD comparators and assess the association between frailty and future hospitalizations and mortality. Methods: In a cohort of patients with incident IBD ≥60 years of age from 2007 to 2016 in Sweden identified using nationwide registers, we defined frailty usin
Background: Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) is an established risk factor for cardiovascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We hypothesized that AAC is associated with a decline in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as well as with some other cardiovascular risk factors. Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a randomized controlle
BACKGROUND: Several different IgA-proteases exist in Haemophilus influenzae. The variants have been suggested to play differential roles in pathogenesis, but there is limited information on their distribution in clinical isolates. The objective of this study was to investigate the distribution of IgA-protease genotypes in H. influenzae and assess the association between IgA-protease genotype and t
