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Objectives We investigated gender differences in the association between mortality and general psychological distress (measured by 12-item General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-12), as an increased mortality risk has been shown in community studies, but gender differences are largely unknown. Setting We used data from a cross-sectional population-based public health survey conducted in 2008 in the Swe

The response of soft colloids to crowding depends sensitively on the particles' compressibility. Nanogel suspensions provide model systems that are often studied to better understand the properties of soft materials and complex fluids from the formation of colloidal crystals to the flow of viruses, blood, or platelet cells in the body. Large spherical nanogels, when embedded in a matrix of smaller

Background: Proton beam therapy penetrates tumor tissues with a highly concentrated dose. It is useful when normal structures are too proximate to the treatment target and, thus, may be damaged by surgery or conventional photon beam therapy. However, proton beam therapy has only been used to treat recurrent endometrial cancer in a few cases; therefore, its effectiveness remains unclear. Case prese

Background: Although many people infected with SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2) experience no or mild symptoms, some individuals can develop severe illness and may die, particularly older people and those with underlying medical problems. Providing evidence-based interventions to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection has become more urgent with the spread of more infectious SARS

Objective: To estimate risks for all-cause mortality and for severe COVID-19 in multiple sclerosis patients and across relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis patients exposed to disease-modifying therapies. Methods: We conducted a Swedish nationwide population-based multi-register linkage cohort study and followed all multiple sclerosis patients (n = 17,692 in March 2020), individually age-, sex-,

Objective: The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) frailty index (FI) predicts mortality and damage accrual in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but its association with hospitalizations has not been described. Our objective was to estimate the association of baseline SLICC-FI values with future hospitalizations in the SLICC inception cohort. Methods: Baseline SLICC-FI sco

Objective: To describe baseline characteristics and to compare treatment effectiveness of secukinumab versus tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) using adalimumab as the main comparator. Methods: This was an observational, prospective cohort study. Patients with SpA (clinical ankylosing spondylitis, nonradiographic axial SpA, or undifferentiated SpA) sta

The possibility of providing investigative leads when conventional DNA identification methods fail to solve a case can be of extreme relevance to law enforcement. Therefore, the forensic genetics community has focused research towards the broadened use of DNA, particularly for prediction of appearance traits, bio-geographical ancestry and age. The VISible Attributes through GEnomics (VISAGE) Conso

Objectives Heat-stressed Mesoamerican workers, such as sugarcane cutters, suffer from high rates of chronic kidney disease of non-traditional origin (CKDnt). We aimed to identify easily available early markers of rapid kidney function decline in a population at high risk of CKDnt. Design The accuracy of different biomarkers measured during harvest for prediction of cross-harvest kidney function de

Objective: There is a lack of real-life studies on interleukin-17 (IL-17) inhibition in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). We assessed real-life 6- and 12-month effectiveness (i.e., retention, remission, low disease activity [LDA], and response rates) of the IL-17 inhibitor secukinumab in PsA patients overall and across 1) number of prior biologic/targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (

Objective: To estimate the risk of developing comorbidities in patients after physician-diagnosed knee or hip osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: This was a cohort study using Swedish longitudinal health care register data; we studied residents in the Skåne region age ≥35 years on January 1, 2010 who were free from diagnosed hip or knee OA (n = 548,681). We then identified subjects with at least 1 new d

The Earth is experiencing unprecedented climate change. Vegetation phenology has already showed strong response to the global warming, which alters mass and energy fluxes on terrestrial ecosystems. With technology and method developments in remote sensing, computer science and citizen science, many recent phenology-related studies have been focused on macrophenology. In this perspective, we 1) rev

Objective: The heterogeneity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) constitutes clinical and therapeutical challenges. We therefore studied whether unrecognized disease subgroups can be identified by using autoantibody profiling together with HLA-DRB1 alleles and immunological and clinical data. Methods: An unsupervised cluster analysis was performed based on detection of 13 SLE-associated autoanti

The magnitude, direction and cause of precipitation changes across the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) remain elusive. In particular, it is still inconclusive whether tropical or extra-tropical factors controlled such precipitation changes. Determining the spatio-temporal distribution of precipitation in the IPWP during the LGM is a valid strategy to address thi

Introduction: Clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa support that HIV self-testing (HIVST) can increase testing rates in difficult-to-reach populations. However, trials mostly evaluate oral fluid HIVST only. We describe preferences for oral fluid vs. blood-based HIVST to elucidate prior trial results and inform testing programs. Methods: Participants were recruited from a HIVST randomized controlle

Background: Smoking has shown interactions with bladder cancer (BC) genetic variants, especially N-acetyltransferase-2 (NAT2), a tobacco smoke metabolism gene, on BC risk. The interactions by disease aggressiveness are unknown. Methods: We investigated the interaction between smoking and 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for BC, individually and in a genetic risk score (GRS), on urothelial

Background: Gallstones intervention during pregnancy might be a stressful event for both mother and fetus and stress might affect outcome. The aim of this study was to identify factors that might improve the care of pregnant patients in need of intervention for gallstone disease. Methods: By crossmatching the Swedish Registry of Gallstone Surgery and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography

The atomic arrangement of the terminating facets on spinel Co3O4 nanocrystals is strongly linked to their catalytic performance. However, the spinel crystal structure offers multiple possible surface terminations depending on the synthesis. Thus, understanding the terminating surface atomic structure is essential in developing high-performance Co3O4 nanocrystals. In this work, we present direct at

Herbaceous aboveground biomass (HAB) is a key indicator of grassland vegetation and indirect estimation tools, such as remote sensing imagery, increase the potential for covering larger areas in a timely and cost-efficient way. Structure from Motion (SfM) is an image analysis process that can create a variety of 3D spatial models as well as 2D orthomosaics from a set of images. Computed from Unman

Aims: Recent studies have suggested potential sex differences in treatment response to pharmacological therapies in heart failure (HF). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing treatment effects between men and women with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) using established guideline-directed medical therapy and other emerging pharmacological treatments. Method