Objective The current study aimed to check whether early vascular aging, measured as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), is related to kidney function, measured as creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration (eGFR) and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), in middle-aged subjects with metabolic syndrome. Methods Participants were recruited from Lithuanian high-risk cohort (LitH

This chapter reconsiders the conventional conceptualization of ekphrasis as a “double representation”. In a case study, intertwining ancient rhetoric with contemporary agential rhetoric, we present Gordon Matta-Clark’s (1943-78) Conical Intersect (Paris, 1975) as ekphrasis in its reality-producing dimension and beyond the subjectivism of intentional actions. In our proposal, we introduce ekphrasis

The recent development of several tau positron emission tomography (PET) tracers represents a major milestone for the Alzheimer's disease (AD) field. These tau PET tracers bind tau neurofibrillary tangles, a key neuropathological characteristic of AD that is tightly linked to synaptic loss, brain atrophy, and cognitive decline. It is notable that these tau PET tracers show low uptake in most non-A

Quality of life and health utility are important outcomes for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and central for demonstrating the value of new treatments. Estimates in biomarker-confirmed AD populations are missing, potentially delaying payer approval of treatment. We examined whether health utility, assessed with the EuroQoL-5 3-level version (EQ-5D-3L), differed between individuals with a p

Daily school physical activity (PA) improves musculoskeletal traits. This study evaluates whether the benefits remain 4 years after the intervention. We followed 45 boys and 36 girls who had had 40 min PA/school day during the nine compulsory school years and 21 boys and 22 girls who had had 60 min PA/school week (reference), with measurements at baseline and 4 years after the program terminated.

Owing to the steep temperature gradient between the warm human body and a cold environment, a potential for high heat losses prevails that may endanger heat balance and represent a threat to human health, function, and performance. Our physiological adaptive power is relatively is relatively low in the cold. Instead, humans rely on technique, organization, and protection to mitigate the effects of

Heat transfer from the human body, especially through the evaporation of sweat from the skin, is often restricted when protective clothing is used, which may result in overheating. For this reason, it is important to consider the parameters of protective clothing as input data in physiological models, such as predicted heat strain. The two most important parameters are thermal insulation and evapo

The aim of this study was to evaluate the equations for calculating the clothing area factor (fcl) used in the standards based on data sets of clothing ensembles, that are meant to provide thermal comfort over a wide range of climatic conditions from hot summer days to extremely cold winter. Over 10 equations for fcl calculations were selected from the international standards and the literature. A

Billions of nocturnally migrating songbirds fly across oceans and deserts on their annual journeys. Using multisensor data loggers, we show that great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) regularly prolong their otherwise strictly nocturnal flights into daytime when crossing the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert. Unexpectedly, when prolonging their flights, they climbed steeply at dawn,

BACKGROUND: Oesophageal cancer management requires extensive in-hospital care. This cohort study aimed to quantify in-hospital care for patients with oesophageal cancer in relation to intended treatment, and to analyse factors associated with risk of spending a large proportion of survival time in hospital. METHODS: All patients with oesophageal cancer in three nationwide registers over a 10-year

Unconventional ferroelectricity exhibited by hafnia-based thin films-robust at nanoscale sizes-presents tremendous opportunities in nanoelectronics. However, the exact nature of polarization switching remains controversial. We investigated a La0.67Sr0.33MnO3/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 capacitor interfaced with various top electrodes while performing in situ electrical biasing using atomic-resolution microscopy

Most commercial prosthetic hands lack closed-loop feedback, thus, a lot of research has been focusing on implementing sensory feedback systems to provide the user with sensory information during activities of daily living. This study evaluates the possibilities of using a microphone and electrotactile feedback to identify different textures. A condenser microphone was used as a sensor to detect th

Insects constitute a very important part of the global ecosystem and include pollinators, disease vectors, and agricultural pests, all with pivotal influence on society. Monitoring and control of such insects has high priority, and automatic systems are highly desirable. While capture and analysis by biologists constitute the gold standard in insect identification, optical and laser techniques hav

The article concerns the Swedish support system’s legal discourse, and investigates the rationale for excluding people over the age of 65 from services that younger people with disabilities may obtain. Data consist of government texts and court decisions under the Severe Disability Act about services for people over the age of 65. It was found that little in the legal discourse concerns the needs

Peptic Ulcer Disease (PUD) is the most common disorder of the stomach and duodenum, which is associated with Helicobacter pylori infection. PUD occurs due to an imbalance between offensive and defensive factors and Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI), Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and antibiotics are frequently used for the treatment. Recently, medicinal plants have emerged as efficacious

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have suggested that artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) may reduce certain biochemical blood factors but the efficacy of this plant on blood pressure (BP) has not yet been investigated. In this study, we determined the clinical efficacy of C. scolymus on BP and body mass index (BMI) in hypertensive patients as an adjunctive to captopril for the first time.METHODS: The total p

Background: In a European study on contact allergy in the general population, it has been hypothesized that the combination of contact allergy to a fragrance together with a history indicating dermatitis at exposure and thereafter subsequent avoidance of scented products implied a diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis. Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to validate this hypothesis/al

This study investigates the form of deictic gestures used by speakers of the Quiahije variety of Eastern Chatino (Otomangean, Zapotecan) spoken in Oaxaca, Mexico. An analysis of over six hours of interviews about local landmarks reveals that Quiahije Chatino speakers consistently use the far-is-up strategy to convey target distance in their deictic gestures—the farther the target, the higher and m

Objective: To compare the real-life effectiveness of biologic therapy (a biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug plus methotrexate [MTX]) versus triple therapy (MTX plus sulfasalazine plus hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine) for sustained remission of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: RA patients who were registered in the nationwide Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register between 2000 and 2012