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BackgroundWe introduce and apply an elegant, contrastive genetic-epidemiological design - Maternal Half-Sibling Families with Discordant Fathers - to clarify cross-generational transmission of genetic risk to alcohol use disorder (AUD), drug abuse (DA) and major depression (MD).MethodUsing Swedish national registries, we identified 73 108 eligible pairs of reared together maternal half-siblings an

Colloidal all-inorganic perovskite nanocrystals have gained significant attention as a promising material for both fundamental and applied research due to their excellent emission properties. However, reported photoluminescence quantum yields (PL QYs) of blue-emitting perovskite nanocrystals are rather low, mostly due to the fact that the high energy excitons for such wide bandgap materials are e

The glutamate transporter 1 (GLT1) is upregulated during astrocyte development and maturation in vivo and is vital for astrocyte function. Yet it is expressed at low levels by most cultured astrocytes. We previously showed that maturation of human and mouse stem cell-derived astrocytes - including functional glutamate uptake - could be enhanced by fibroblast growth factor (FGF)1 or FGF2. Here, we

The effect of alcohol intake on varicose veins (VV) has not been determined by its consumption level. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between alcohol intake and VV in an elderly general population. Using a cross-sectional approach, the Shimane CoHRE Study data, comprising a total of 1060 participants, were analyzed. By multivariate regression analysis adjusted with basic c

Behavioral adaptations play an important role in predator–prey interactions as they reduce predation risk. Prey organisms have therefore evolved a tremendous variability in behavioral adaptations. In case of small crustaceans of the genus Daphnia, which are common and important herbivores transferring energy from primary producers to higher trophic levels, such as predatory fish, and insects, alte

The interaction of oppositely charged lock- and key-colloids is investigated using computer simulations. We show that indented spheres, i.e., lock-particles, can be specifically assembled with spherical key-particles using solely electrostatic interactions in addition to a hard overlap potential. An analytic description of the entropic and energetic contributions is derived and supported by simula

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and dementia are predominant among the elderly; patients with AF have an increased dementia risk. We aimed to study if prescribed antihypertensive drugs and cardiovascular pharmacotherapies are associated with a lower relative risk of dementia. Methods: All included patients were ≥45 years and diagnosed with AF in primary care; 12,096 (6580 men and 5516 women)

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation often involves the cryopreservation of stem cell products. Currently, the standard cryoprotective agent (CPA) is dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), which is known to cause concentration-related toxicity and side effects when administered to patients. Based on promising in vitro data from our previous study using pentaisomaltose (a 1 kDa subfraction of Dextran 1) as

Background: Accurate assessment of polyphenol intakes is needed in epidemiologic research in order to study their health effects, and this can be particularly challenging in international study settings. Objective: The purpose of this work is to describe the procedures to prepare a comprehensive polyphenol food-composition database that was used to calculate standardized polyphenol intakes from 24

Within the hematopoietic system, the Notch pathway is critical for promoting thymic T cell development and suppressing the B and myeloid lineage fates; however, its impact on NK lymphopoiesis is less understood. To study the role of Notch during NK cell development in vivo, we investigated different NK cell compartments and function in Rbp-Jkfl/flVav-Cretg/+ mice, in which Rbp-Jk, the major transc

Background: Preventing ischaemic stroke attracts significant focus in atrial fibrillation (AF) cases. Less is known on the association between socioeconomic factors and mortality and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with AF. Methods: Our study population included adults (n=12 283) ≥45 years diagnosed with AF at 75 primary care centres in Sweden 2001-07. Cox regression was used to calculate haza

Objective: To study association between relevant cardiovascular pharmacotherapy and incident congestive heart failure (CHF) in patients with atrial fibrillation treated in primary health care. Methods: Study population included all adults (n=7975) aged 45 years and older diagnosed with atrial fibrillation at 75 primary care centers in Sweden between 2001 and 2007. Outcome was defined as a first di

Background: Diabetes is a risk factor for cognitive impairment, but whether there is also a link between pre-diabetes and cognitive dysfunction is not yet fully established. The aim of this observational study was to investigate associations between pre-diabetes/diabetes and cognitive test results, and also between glucose levels measured during the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and cognitive

Immunophenotypic characterization and molecular analysis have long been used to delineate heterogeneity and define distinct cell populations. FACS is inherently a single-cell assay, however prior to molecular analysis, the target cells are often prospectively isolated in bulk, thereby losing single-cell resolution. Single-cell gene expression analysis provides a means to understand molecular diffe

Background: Aortic valve stenosis (AVS) and coronary artery disease (CAD) have a significant genetic contribution and commonly co-exist. To compare and contrast genetic determinants of the two diseases, we investigated associations of the LPA and 9p21 loci, i.e. the two strongest CAD risk loci, with risk of AVS. Methods: We genotyped the CAD-associated variants at the LPA (rs10455872) and 9p21 loc

Objective. An increased risk of being diagnosed with coronary heart disease or atrial fibrillation has been shown among different immigrant groups. However, less is known on the risk of being diagnosed with congestive heart failure (CHF). Design. We studied CHF in immigrants including all adults ≥45 years in Sweden (n = 3,274,119) from 1998 to 2012. CHF was defined as at the first event registered

Multipotent progenitor cells confirm their T cell–lineage identity in the CD4–CD8– double-negative (DN) pro-T cell DN2 stages, when expression of the essential transcription factor Bcl11b begins. In vivo and in vitro stage-specific deletions globally identified Bcl11b-controlled target genes in pro-T cells. Proteomics analysis revealed that Bcl11b associated with multiple cofactors and that its di

BackgroundAlthough being married with children is associated with a reduced rate of alcohol use disorder (AUD), is this finding independent of a marital effect, different in mothers and fathers and potentially causal in effect.MethodsUsing Cox proportional hazards, we examined, in 1 252 237 married individuals, the association between a resident younger and older child and risk for AUD registratio

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have the ability to self-renew and to give rise to all blood cells of the different lineages, and are thereby responsible for the replenishment of blood cells throughout life. These cells are tightly regulated by extrinsic and intrinsic regulators, such as signals from the bone marrow microenvironment, complex transcription factor networks and epigenetic regulators.