Filetype
Background: Severe alpha 1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (genotype PiZZ) is a well-known risk factor for COPD. A cohort of PiZZ and PiSZ individuals was identified by the Swedish national neonatal AAT screening program in 1972-1974 and followed up regularly since birth. Our aim was to study the lung function, respiratory symptoms and health status at the age of 38 years in comparison with a random
The growing number of elderly subjects with hypertension in western countries represents a demanding problem to find accurate blood pressure goals with an evidence base for such patients. Previously we did not have enough evidence, but more recently new evidence has accumulated based on data from the HYVET and the SPRINT studies. For most elderly hypertensives a blood pressure goal below 150/90 mm
Objective: To study if a modified triage system at an Emergency Department (ED) combined with educational efforts resulted in reduced time to antibiotics and decreased length of hospital stay (LOS) for patients with severe infection. Methods: A retrospective, observational study comparing patients before and after the start of a new triage model at the ED of a University Hospital. After the implem
Background: Smoking is reported to affect the risk of a number of chronic disorders, including rheumatic diseases. Previous cross-sectional studies have shown a lower frequency of smoking in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of smoking and socioeconomic status on the risk of subsequent diagnosis of pSS in a nested case-control study
Background: Data are lacking from general population studies on how to define changes in lung function after bronchodilation. This study aimed to analyze different measures of bronchodilator response of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and slow vital capacity (SVC). Materials and methods: Data were derived from the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Bioimage Study (SCA
OBJECTIVE:: To compare the rates of abdominal surgery during pregnancy among women with previous bariatric surgery (women in the case group) and women with first-trimester body mass index (BMI) greater than 35 and no previous bariatric surgery (women in the control group). METHODS:: We conducted a national cohort study, merging data from the Swedish Medical Birth Registry and the Swedish National
Background: Asthma is a heterogeneous inflammatory airway disease that continues to cause considerable morbidity across the world, with poor asthma control leading to hospitalizations. Objective: The present study investigated the risk of rehospitalization, mortality, and the management of patients with asthma who had been hospitalized because of an asthma exacerbation. Methods: National Swedish h
Background: When deciding treatment options for patients with colon cancer, accurate staging is required. In Sweden, the main preoperative evaluation modality to determine tumor and nodal stage is computed tomography (CT).Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate how well the preoperative (CT-determined) clinical tumor and nodal stage (cTN) correlated with the postoperative histopathologic
With polystyrene nanoparticles being widely used in various applications, there is a great need for deeper knowledge on the safety, fate and biological effects of these particles on both individual living organisms and the whole ecosystems. Due to this, there is a growing interest in performing ecotoxicological studies using model plastic nanoparticles, and consequently it generates an increasing
This chapter describes basic principles and recent advances in time-resolved X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy with particular emphasis on studies conducted in complex reaction environments. Specifically, it discusses different ways for obtaining time information and achieving different time resolutions in tr-(AP)XPS experiment, covering timescales from fs to s. This includes experimental setups at
Objective: To develop a simple and effective risk score for predicting which stroke patients will have persistent impairment of upper extremity motor function at 90 days. Design: Post hoc analysis of clinical trial patients hospitalized with acute ischemic stroke who were followed for 90 days to determine functional outcome. Setting: Patient were hospitalized at facilities across the United States
We used Raman spectroscopy to investigate phonon modes of single InP-InAs core-shell nanowire with a pure wurtzite phase to reveal the embedded strained state. Raman spectra show that the InP core exhibits tensile strain and the InAs shell exhibits compressive strain due to the radial heterostructure growth. Using different polarization excitation configurations, we identified distinct A1 (TO) and
Plastic litter is a growing environmental problem. Recently, microplastics and nanoplastics, produced during breakdown processes in nature, have been in focus. Although there is a growing knowledge concerning microplastic, little is still known about the effect of nanoplastics. We have showed that mechanical breakdown of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), followed by filtration through 0.8 µm filte
Bile acids (BAs) play different roles in cancer development. Some are carcinogenic and BA signaling is also involved in various metabolic, inflammatory and immune-related processes. The liver is the primary site of BA synthesis. Liver dysfunction and microbiome compositional changes, such as during hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, may modulate BA metabolism increasing concentration of c
Purpose: To explore school-aged children's experiences about their best interests and participation in care during a hospital admission. Design and methods: A descriptive qualitative design involving in-depth, iterative inductive review of child responses to generate key words that led to identification of categories and themes. The study was guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights o
Precise control of the discharge in space and time is of great significance for better applications of discharge plasma. Here, we used a femtosecond laser filament to trigger and guide a high-voltage DC pulse discharge to achieve spatiotemporal control of the discharge plasma. In space, the discharge plasma is distributed strictly along the channel generated by the femtosecond laser filament. The
BACKGROUND: Prior to COVID-19, >90% of caregivers of people with brain health challenges (dementia, mental ill health, intellectual disability) experienced high levels of distress, burden, loneliness and social isolation. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased these impacts, particularly since these caregivers are often older and physically vulnerable themselves. The aim of this cross-s
Growing evidence suggests a consistent association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and cognitive impairment and dementia that is independent of clinical stroke. This report from the AF-SCREEN International Collaboration summarizes the evidence linking AF to cognitive impairment and dementia. It provides guidance on the investigation and management of dementia in patients with AF on the basis of b
The effect of instantaneous spectral diffusion (ISD) on gate operations in rare-earth-ion-doped crystals is an important question to answer for the future of rare-earth quantum computing. Here we present a microscopic modeling that highlights the stochastic nature of the phenomenon and use it to investigate ISD errors on single-qubit gate operations. Furthermore, we present a method to estimate th
