Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an irreversible disease, diagnosed predominantly in smokers. COPD is currently the third leading cause of death worldwide. Far more than 15 % of smokers get COPD: in fact, most develop some amount of pulmonary impairment. Smoking-related COPD is associated with both acute exacerbations and is closely correlated to comorbidities, such as cardiovascula

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a technology that, while removing many of the constraints of traditional manufacturing, imposes some new constraints of its own. Because of this, engineers and designers need to be taught a new set of skills in design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) in order to become competent in designing parts that maximize the benefits offered by AM. Around the world, universit

High blood pressure is a highly heritable and modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. We report the largest genetic association study of blood pressure traits (systolic, diastolic and pulse pressure) to date in over 1 million people of European ancestry. We identify 535 novel blood pressure loci that not only offer new biological insights into blood pressure regulation but also highligh

Background Underweight and severe and morbid obesity are associated with highly elevated risks of adverse health outcomes. We estimated trends in mean body-mass index (BMI), which characterises its population distribution, and in the prevalences of a complete set of BMI categories for adults in all countries. Methods We analysed, with use of a consistent protocol, population-based studies that ha

The purpose of this study was to explore and compare different countries in what motivated research participants’ decisions whether to share their de-identified data. We investigated European DIRECT (Diabetes Research on Patient Stratification) research project participants’ desire for control over sharing different types of their de-identified data, and with who data could be shared in the future

The view of mitochondria acting solely as a powerhouse of the cell is no longer accurate. Besides cell bioenergetics, primary targets of mitochondrial studies include their interplay with essential processes within the cell, including redox and calcium homeostasis, and apoptosis. Recent studies evidence the dynamic behavior of mitochondria, continuously moving, fusing, and dividing, and the intera

Major climate and ecological changes affect the world’s oceans leading to a number of responses including increasing water temperatures, changing weather patterns, shrinking ice-sheets, temperature-driven shifts in marine species ranges, biodiversity loss and bleaching of coral reefs. In addition, ocean pH is falling, a process known as ocean acidification (OA). The root cause of OA lies in human

This paper conducts an inductive case study to develop theory on the role of family in the host and home country in the process of immigrant entrepreneurs’ creation of entrepreneurial opportunities. We employ the perspectives of the opportunity creation process and family social capital. We conducted four cases of immigrant entrepreneurs from Lebanon, Syria, Cameroon and Mexico, that launched busi

OBJECTIVES: The predictive ability of the STarT Back Tool (SBT) has not yet been examined among acute/subacute back and/or neck pain in a primary care setting in respect to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work ability outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the SBT's predictive validity for HRQoL and work ability outcomes at long-term follow-up in a population with acute/subacut

Migrant integration is a long drawn out process requiring synergies with various dimensions of life, rhyming with those of the host country. In this paper, we attempt to deconstruct the digital narratives of migrant to explore how they may lead to a meaningful assessment of their acculturation and consequent integration in their host societies’. Drawing on acculturation theory as a lens, we argue

Thrombocytopenia is common in patients with invasive bacterial infections. Bacteria can activate platelets, but it is unclear if this affects platelet count. The aim of this study was to examine whether bacteraemia with Staphylococcus aureus, which readily activate human platelets, was more likely to be complicated by thrombocytopenia than bacteraemia with Escherichia coli or Streptococcus pneumon