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Background: Polygenic prediction studies in continental Africans are scarce. Africa’s genetic and environmental diversity pose a challenge that limits the generalizability of polygenic risk scores (PRS) for body mass index (BMI) within the continent. Studies to understand the factors that affect PRS variability within Africa are required. Methods: Using the first multi-ancestry genome-wide associa
Background: Insulin resistance is a hypothesised biological mechanism linking obesity with prostate cancer (PCa) death. Data in support of this hypothesis is limited. Methods: We included 259,884 men from eight European cohorts, with 11,760 incident PCa’s and 1784 PCa deaths during follow-up. We used the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index as indicator of insulin resistance. We analysed PCa cases wit
High-order harmonic generation (HHG) provides scalable sources of coherent extreme ultraviolet radiation with pulse duration down to the attosecond time scale. Efficient HHG requires the constructive interplay between microscopic and macroscopic effects in the generation volume, which can be achieved over a large range of experimental parameters from the driving field properties to those of the ge
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are relevant therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. Still, the molecular circuits behind CSC characteristics are not fully understood. The low number of CSCs can sometimes be an obstacle to carrying out assays that explore their properties. Thus, increasing CSC numbers via small molecule-mediated cellular reprogramming appears to be a valid alternative tool. Using the S
Background: Elevated levels of cardiac troponin T has been observed in patients seeking care at the emergency department (ED) presenting with chest pain but without myocardial infarction (MI). The clinical importance of this observation remains, however, still unclear. Our main aim was to study the role of cardiac troponin T in patients admitted to the emergency department with acute dyspnea, a gr
Understanding the trade-off between energy expenditure of carrying large fuel loads and the risk of fuel depletion is imperative to understand the evolution of flight strategies during long-distance animal migration. Global flyways regularly involve sea crossings that may impose flight prolongations on migrating land-birds and thereby reduce their energy reserves and survival prospects. We studied
Introduction: Educational attainment, widely used in epidemiologic studies as a surrogate for socioeconomic status, is a predictor of cardiovascular health outcomes. Methods: A two-stage genome-wide meta-analysis of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and triglyceride (TG) levels was performed while accounting for gene-educational attainment inter
Materials with heterogeneous microstructures have been reported to have an attractive combination of strength and ductility. This is attributed to synergistic strengthening effects from the difference in strength of fine- and coarse-grained regions. Understanding the interaction of the regions is crucial for further optimization of the microstructures. In this work, we fabricated nickel of harmoni
We evaluate the shared genetic regulation of mRNA molecules, proteins and metabolites derived from whole blood from 3029 human donors. We find abundant allelic heterogeneity, where multiple variants regulate a particular molecular phenotype, and pleiotropy, where a single variant associates with multiple molecular phenotypes over multiple genomic regions. The highest proportion of share genetic re
Background and aims: Obesity and type 2 diabetes are significant risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) worldwide, but the underlying pathophysiological links are poorly understood. Neurotensin (NT), a 13-amino-acid hormone peptide, facilitates intestinal fat absorption and contributes to obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet. Elevated levels of pro-NT (a stable NT precursor p
α-Synuclein is a small neuronal protein enriched at presynaptic termini. It is hypothesized to play a role in neurotransmitter release and synaptic vesicle cycling, while the formation of α-synuclein amyloid fibrils is associated with several neurodegenerative diseases, most notably Parkinson’s Disease. The molecular mechanisms of both the physiological and pathological functions of α-synuclein re
Combining information from the tumor microenvironment (TME) with PAM50 Risk of Recurrence (ROR) score could improve breast cancer prognostication. Caveolin-1 (CAV1) is a marker of an active TME. CAV1 is a membrane protein involved in cell signaling, extracellular matrix organization, and tumor-stroma interactions. We sought to investigate CAV1 gene expression in relation to PAM50 subtypes, ROR sco
In this study, we present a systematic investigation of the controlled fabrication of Au-Pd barcode nanowires within nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (NP-AAO) templates. By using a combination of in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we elucidate the influence of template preparation methods on the resu
A novel laboratory methodology for analysing hot asphalt fumes from various paving materials is presented and evaluated. This method facilitates comparative assessments, aiming to enhance occupational safety for asphalt workers and ensure safe implementation of new paving materials. Comparative analyses of emissions to air were conducted on standard asphalt and rubber-modified asphalt at different
Aquaporin-0 (AQP0) is the main water channel in the mammalian lens and is involved in accommodation and maintaining lens transparency. AQP0 binds the Ca2+-sensing protein calmodulin (CaM) and this interaction is believed to gate its water permeability by closing the water-conducting pore. Here, we express recombinant and functional human AQP0 in Pichia pastoris and investigate how phosphorylation
Characterization of emissions from fires in a laboratory-controlled environment are presented in this report. The project is initiated by the CERN HSE Unit and is called FIRIA, Fire-Induced Radiological Integrated Assessment. The objective of FIRIA is to enhance the knowledge of aerosols emitted from fires in order to develop dispersion models of radiologically-activated material in case of fire.
High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are promising targets for predicting and treating atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), as they mediate removal of excess cholesterol from lipid-laden macrophages that accumulate in the vasculature. This functional property of HDLs, termed cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC), is inversely associated with ASCVD. HDLs are compositionally diverse, associating
Four new pentadentate N5-donor ligands, [N-(1-methyl-2-imidazolyl)methyl-N-(2-pyridyl)-methyl-N-(bis-2-pyridylmethyl)-amine] (L1), [N-bis(1-methyl-2-imidazolyl)methyl-N-(bis-2-pyridylmethyl)amine] (L2), (N-(isoquinolin-3-ylmethyl)-1,1-di(pyridin-2-yl)-N-(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)methanamine (L3) and N,N-bis(isoquinolin-3-ylmethyl)-1,1-di(pyridin-2-yl)methanamine (L4), have been synthesized based on the
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are considered ecosystem engineers, but the interactions of their mycelium with their immediate surroundings are largely unknown. In this study, we used microfluidic chips, simulating artificial soil structures, to study foraging strategies and habitat modification of Rhizophagus irregularis symbiotically associated to carrot roots. AMF hyphae foraged over long d
