Objectives: Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is associated with a poor prognosis and a lack of specific treatment options. The dysregulation of activin A (ActA) has been reported in various malignancies. Herein, we investigated the diagnostic and prognostic significance of ActA in LUSC. Materials and methods: ActA concentrations were measured using ELISA in plasma samples of 128 LUSC patients (

Purpose: To examine anthropometric predictors of BMI 30 years after the onset of adolescent AN. Methods: A group of 51 individuals with adolescent-onset AN were identified in Sweden in 1985. Anthropometric data have been collected from birth records and school nurse charts. A group matched for gender, school and age constituted a healthy control group. Possible predictors of BMI 30 years after AN

The axillary lymph node status remains an important prognostic factor in breast cancer, and nodal staging using sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is routine. Randomized clinical trials provide evidence supporting de-escalation of axillary surgery and omission of SLNB in patients at low risk. However, identifying sentinel lymph node macrometastases (macro-SLNMs) is crucial for planning treatment ta

Tendon healing involves mechanosensitive cells that adapt to mechanical stimuli through mechanotransduction, resulting in increased tissue strength. However, detailed insights into this process in response to different loads remain limited. We aimed to investigate how different loading regimes impact the spatial composition of elastin and collagens during Achilles tendon healing. Histological anal

Introduction: Studies suggest that experiences of patient participation, as described by both patients and staff, are associated with a significant caring relationship of high quality. Aim: This study aimed to investigate staffs' and patients' self-reported perceptions on participation and the frequency and importance of verbal and social interactions in high-security forensic psychiatry. Method:

Building occupant behaviour is known to be an important factor that drives building energy use and the associated carbon emissions. A substantial body of work has investigated occupant behaviour and the underlying drivers. Yet it is generally known that some buildings allow only minimal behavioural intervention, such as on/off control of lights. Other buildings allow a much higher degree of interv

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can lead to a type of primary liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Georgia, a high HCV prevalence country, started an HCV elimination program in 2015. In addition to tracking incidence and mortality, surveillance for the HCV-attributable fraction of HCC is an important indicator of the program’s impact. This study assesses HCV infection-

In the low deposition situation of today at many of the long-term Swedish forest monitoring sites, the deposition measured as precipitation to the open field, i.e. bulk deposition of oxidized sulphur (S) is often higher or equal to deposition of S sampled under the forest canopies, i.e. as throughfall. This suggests that the total S deposition estimated using throughfall is underestimated. The rea

Non-structural protein 3 (Nsp3) is the largest protein encoded by the coronavirus (CoV) genome. It consists of multiple domains that perform critical functions during the viral life cycle. CoV-Y is the most C-terminal domain of Nsp3, and it exhibits evolutionary conservation across diverse CoVs; however, the exact biological function of CoV-Y remains unclear. Here, we determined the crystal struct

Some dinoflagellates produce toxic secondary metabolites that correlate with increased resistance to grazers. The allocation costs of toxin production have been repeatedly addressed, but with conflicting results. Few studies have considered the potential costs of this defense to the photosystem, even though defense toxins (e.g., karlotoxins and brevetoxins) are closely linked to the photoprotectiv

Distributed optimal control is known to be challenging and can become intractable even for linear-quadratic regulator problems. In this work, we study a special class of such problems where distributed state feedback controllers can give near-optimal performance. More specifically, we consider networked linear-quadratic controllers with decoupled costs and spatially exponentially decaying dynamics

In recent years, hydrogels have been demonstrated as simple and cheap additives to improve the optical properties and material stability of organometal halide perovskites (OHPs), with most research centered on the use of hydrophilic, petrochemical-derived polymers. Here, we investigate the role of a peptide hydrogel in passivating defect sites and improving the stability of methylammonium lead iod

In the present work, we have studied the interaction of water with spinel cobalt oxide (Co3O4), an effect which has been considered a major cause of its catalytic deactivation. Employing a Co3O4(111) model thin film grown on Ir(100) in (ultra)high vacuum, and ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS), hydroxylation in 0.5 mbar H2O vapor at room temperature was monitored in real tim

Background: In Sweden, surgical treatment of Hirschsprung’s disease (HSCR) was centralized from four to two pediatric surgery centers 1st of July 2018. In adults, centralization of surgical care for complex or rare diseases seems to improve quality of care. There is little evidence supporting centralization of pediatric surgical care. The aim of this study was to assess surgical management and pos

Phosphorus (P) is a limiting nutrient to production in various agricultural ecosystems and many soils contain large amounts of legacy P that is strongly adsorbed on iron (Fe) and aluminum oxides and therefore poorly available to plants. Here we investigate how much mineral-bound P is mobilized in different cropping systems and the influence of agronomic practices on this process. Root ingrowth cor

Background: The aim of this study was to assess whether hypothermia increased survival and improved functional outcome when compared with normothermia in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients with similar characteristics than in previous randomized studies showing benefits for hypothermia. Methods: Post hoc analysis of a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized clinical trial (TTM-2, NCT0290830

Pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) is an important virulence factor in Streptococcus pneumoniae that binds to lactoferrin and protects the bacterium from the bactericidal action of lactoferricins—cationic peptides released upon lactoferrin proteolysis. The present study investigated if PspA can prevent killing by another cationic peptide, indolicidin. PspA-negative pneumococci were more sensiti

The study of combustion characteristics and heat feedback mechanisms of liquid fuels is important for fire safety engineering, particularly in the context of energy utilization. In thiswork, the effect of lip height on the evolution of n-heptane pool fire burning rates and flame heights, as well as the thermal feedback control mechanism, were investigated in a series of experiments in the presence