BackgroundThe needs of care based on palliative principles are stressed for all people with progressive and/or life-limiting conditions, regardless of age and the place in which care is provided. Person-centred palliative care strives to make the whole person visible and prioritizes the satisfaction of spiritual, existential, social, and psychological needs to the same extent as physical needs. Ho

This paper deals with new forms of political mobilisation and participation in social media, such as blogs, social network sites and the likes. The main focus is on the impor-tance of social networks in providing a “media filter”, functioning as a kind of collective gatekeeper to spread news and information perceived as important, in contrast to the image of the single individual media consumer fa

This report describes a model for the estimation of the time required to evacuate a building, by dividing the evacuation process into three phases: awareness, behaviour and response, and movement. The times required in each of these phases can be estimated separately and the sum then represents the total evacuation time. The time elapsed from the fire breaking out, to the discovery of the fire, is

BACKGROUND: Tumor development requires angiogenesis, and antiangiogenesis has been introduced in the treatment of cancer patients; however, how the cardiovascular phenotype correlates with cancer risk remains ill-defined. Here, we hypothesized that vasoactive peptides previously implicated in angiogenesis regulation predict long-term cancer risk.METHODS: We measured midregional proatrial natriuret

Background: Informed consent is a prerequisite for patients included in clinical trials. Trial design, inclusion criteria and legal requirements are increasingly complex. This complexity challenges design and delivery of written and oral trial information to ensure understandable information. To evaluate the level of concordance between patients' and informing physicians' assessments regarding pat

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

The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is used to diagnose gestational and other types of diabetes. We examined metabolite changes during an OGTT, and how a comprehensive diet and physical activity intervention may influence these changes in a population of overweight/obese Hispanic pregnant women. Integration of changes in metabolites during an OGTT may help us gain preliminary insights into how

Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm is associated with an increased mortality, mostly cardiovascular events. Moreover, aortoiliac calcification is associated with increased mortality in patients with peripheral occlusive disease. The aim of this study is to assess the potential association between iliofemoral calcification, assessed by calcium score, in patients undergoing infrarenal (endovascul

Introduction: Universal screening for preterm delivery by adding transvaginal ultrasound measurement of cervical length to routine second trimester ultrasound has been proposed. The aim is to estimate inter- and intraobserver agreement and reliability of second trimester transvaginal ultrasound measurements of cervical length performed by specially trained midwife sonographers. Material and method

BACKGROUND: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) remains one of the leading causes of premature death in diabetes. DKD is classified on albuminuria and reduced kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)) but these have modest value for predicting future renal status. There is an unmet need for biomarkers that can be used in clinical settings which also improve prediction of renal declin

For a long time, laboratory work has been an important part of science teaching. Curricular objectives of laboratory work have remained mostly unchanged for over a century but have changed somewhat over the past sixty years as a result of political decisions and educational trends. Technology development is reflected in the increased use of digital equipment, which has also led to continuously cha

Objective: A widely recognized metabolic side effect of glucocorticoid (GC) therapy is steroid-induced diabetes mellitus (DM). However, studies on the molecular basis of GC-induced pancreatic beta cell dysfunction in human beta cells are lacking. The significance of non-coding RNAs in various cellular processes is emerging. In this study, we aimed to show the direct negative impact of GC on beta c

Aim: To evaluate whether history of pregnancy complications [pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, preterm delivery, or small for gestational age (SGA)] improves risk prediction for cardiovascular disease (CVD).Methods and results: This population-based, prospective cohort study linked data from the HUNT Study, Medical Birth Registry of Norway, validated hospital records, and Norwegian Cause of

BACKGROUND: Many studies have indicated that colon and rectal cancers differ in etiology and histology. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the associations of colon and rectal cancers with any other (discordant) cancer were site specific. DESIGN: A novel approach was implemented in which cancer risks were analyzed in families with increasing numbers of family members diagn

Popular science summaryMycorrhizal associations Mycorrhizal fungi are organisms that live in association with plant roots and provide plants with water and nutrients in exchange for the sugars obtained during photosynthesis. In forested ecosystems mycorrhizal fungi are crucial for tree nutrition and trees rely heavily on these associations to take up key elements like nitrogen and phosphorus. As r