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Background: The aim of the study was to develop and test an artificial intelligence (AI)-based method to improve the quality of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) images. Methods: A convolutional neural network (CNN) was trained by using pairs of excellent (acquisition time of 6 min/bed position) and standard (acquisition time of 1.5 min/bed position) or sub-standard
Background: Gastric bypass (GBP) is a surgical method with good evidence of sustainable weight loss, reduced obesity-related comorbidities, and improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, long-term data post-GBP is scarce on HRQoL related to other factors than weight loss, such as impact of socio-economic, age, and gender. Aim: To investigate long-term HRQoL in GBP patients. Methods:
It is widely known that the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ϵ4 allele imposes a higher risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent evidence suggests that exposure to air pollution is also a risk factor for AD, and results from a few studies indicate that the effect of air pollution on cognitive function and dementia is stronger in APOE ϵ4 carriers than in non-carriers. Air pollution and interaction with APO
One recurrent narrative in the discussion about managerial public sector reforms is the growth in organizational professionals as a response to new accountability regimes. New Zealand has experienced modest growth rates in the general public sector workforce. Less studied, though, is whether the composition of the public sector workforce has changed, with an increase in organizational functions su
The Arctic has experienced a warming rate higher than the global mean in the past decades, but previous studies show that there are large uncertainties associated with future Arctic temperature projections. In this study, near-surface mean temperatures in the Arctic are analyzed from 22 models participating in phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). Compared with the ERA5 rea
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
