Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified >50 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in association with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) but little is known about whether the combination of these SNPs may aid in prediction of future incidence of CKD in the population. Methods: We included 2301 participants with baseline eGFR ≥60

IntroductionNasopharyngeal cultures are commonly used to determine the causative bacteria in upper airway infections. However, several bacteria can occupy the nasopharynx simultaneously and most healthy children are asymptomatic carriers of presumptive pathogens. This makes the interpretation of nasopharyngeal cultures difficult. Knowledge about which bacteria reside in the nasopharynx can assist

The escalating number of road traffic crashes in Malaysia poses a critical concern. The underreporting of these crashes has been identified as a significant problem that obstructs the effectiveness and efficiency of road safety work. Accordingly, a data-linkage study comparing hospital and police databases in a representative region of Malaysia was carried out. It showed a severe underreporting of

Purpose: More than 70% of patients with breast cancer present with node-negative disease, yet all undergo surgical axillary staging. We aimed to define predictors of nodal metastasis using clinicopathological characteristics (CLINICAL), gene expression data (GEX), and mixed features (MIXED) and to identify patients at low risk of metastasis who might be spared sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).Exp

Background: Little is known regarding the burden of comorbidities among older people with intellectual disability (ID) who have affective and anxiety disorders. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the occurrence and risk of psychiatric and somatic comorbidities with affective and/or anxiety disorders in older people with ID compared to the general population. Methods: This population study was base

Background/objectives: Excess gestational weight gain (GWG) is a risk factor for maternal postpartum weight retention and excessive neonatal adiposity, especially in women with overweight or obesity. Whether lifestyle interventions to reduce excess GWG also reduce 12-month maternal postpartum weight retention and infant weight-for-length z score is unknown. Randomized controlled trials from the LI

Avian haemosporidian parasites are particularly diverse and widespread. To date, more than 3,000 distinct cytochrome b lineages have been recorded, of which some present extremely wide geographical distributions, even including multiple continents. Whether these isolates represent one or several cryptic species remains unknown. Here we carried out a case study of SISKIN1, a common haemosporidian p

Accurately quantifying soil base cation pool sizes is essential to interpreting the sustainability of forest harvests from element mass-balance studies. The soil-exchangeable pool is classically viewed as the bank of "available" base cations in the soil, withdrawn upon by plant uptake and leaching and refilled by litter decomposition, atmospheric deposition and mineral weathering. The operational

Background: To understand user needs, system requirements and organizational conditions towards successful design and adoption of Clinical Decision Support Systems for Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) care built on top of computerized risk models. Methods: The holistic and evidence-based CEHRES Roadmap, used to create eHealth solutions through participatory development approach, persuasive design techniques

Aims/hypothesis: We studied the association of plasma ascorbic acid with the risk of developing islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes and examined whether SNPs in vitamin C transport genes modify these associations. Furthermore, we aimed to determine whether the SNPs themselves are associated with the risk of islet autoimmunity or type 1 diabetes. Methods: We used a risk set sampled nested case–c

Objectives: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of death globally, commonly through sudden cardiac death. Cardiac arrest of cardiac origin (CA) is associated with a poor prognosis and there is a great need for risk assessment and intensified preventive actions. In this study we aim to assess if a genetic risk score for CHD, composed of 50 common CHD susceptibility variants (GRS), predi

The strategic direction of the European Union (EU) over the past twenty years has focused on increasing resource productivity and innovation in the economy, aiming at the efficient use and secured supplies of resources, economic growth and job creation, with fewer environmental impacts. One of the basic premises of the new ‘Green Deal’ for Europe is the promotion of the circular economy. The aim o

Declines in European farmland birds over past decades have been attributed to the combined effects of agricultural intensification and abandonment. Consequently, aspirations to stop declines should focus attention on reversing these changes through voluntary or policy-driven interventions. The design of such interventions should ideally be informed by scientific knowledge of which aspects of the t

OBJECTIVE: CD4+CD28null T cells have been shown to be associated with recurrent coronary events and suggested as potential biomarker and therapeutic target. It is unknown whether CD4+CD28null T cells associate with first-time cardiovascular events. We examined CD4+CD28null T cells in a prospective population-based cohort and in patients with advanced atherosclerosis. Approach and Results: CD4+CD28

Introduction: Decline in physical function varies substantially across older individuals due to several extrinsic modifiable factors such as dietary patterns, physical activity and social support. We aimed to determine the association of these factors and their interaction with mobility and muscle strength decline. Methods: We analyzed data from 1686 functionally healthy individuals aged 60 + from

BackgroundHome care is beset with work environment issues and high staff turnover, while research concerned with interventions to improve the work environment is sparse. Few of the existing interventions apply a participative approach, despite this being associated with more positive outcomes and sustainable change. This paper presents a framework, rooted in action research and action learning, fo

OBJECTIVE: The mechanisms underlying the association between diabetes and inner ear dysfunction are not known yet. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the impact of obesity/insulin resistance on inner ear fluid homeostasis in vivo, and to investigate whether the organ of Corti could be a target tissue for insulin signaling using auditory House Ear Institute-Organ of Corti 1 (HEI-OC1) cells