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Arsenic (As) is one of the most important dangerous elements as more than 100 million of people are exposed to risk, globally. The permissible threshold of As for drinking water is 10 μg/L according to both the WHO’s drinking water guidelines and the Iranian national standard. However, several studies have indicated that As concentrations exceed this threshold value in several regions of Iran. Thi
Background: Cancer Antigen 125 (CA125) is currently the best available ovarian cancer screening biomarker. However, CA125 has been limited by low sensitivity and specificity in part due to normal variation between individuals. Personal characteristics that influence CA125 could be used to improve its performance as screening biomarker. Methods: We developed and validated linear and dichotomous (≥3
BackgroundAccumulating evidence suggests that many psychiatric disorders etiologically represent the extreme end of dimensionally distributed features rather than distinct entities. The extent to which this applies to eating disorders (EDs) is unknown.MethodsWe investigated if there is similar etiology in (a) the continuous distribution of the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), (b) the extremes
AIMS: Remodelling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a key mechanism involved in the development and progression of heart failure (HF) but also functional in associated pulmonary hypertension (PH). Our aim was to identify plasma ECM proteins associated to end-stage HF and secondary PH in relation to haemodynamics, before and after heart transplantation (HT).METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty ECM plasma
AIM: Epidural analgesia reduces the surgical stress response. However, its effect on pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the genesis of inflammation following major abdominal surgery remains unclear. Our main objective was to elucidate whether perioperative epidural analgesia prevents the inflammatory response following colorectal cancer surgery.METHODS: Ninety-six patients scheduled for open
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The option to treat early colon cancer (CC) with local resection, as well as trials investigating neoadjuvant treatment, has increased the importance of identifying early-stage disease in the workup. Most CC patients are T- and N-staged preoperatively with CT, although its reliability in staging early CC remains elusive. The aim of this study was to investigate CT-staging
Background: Recent experiments have confirmed that the neutron-rich isotopes F28,29 belong to the so-called island of inversion (IOI), a region of the nuclear chart around Z=10 and N=20 where nuclear structure deviates from the standard shell model predictions due to deformation and continuum effects. However, while the general principles leading to the IOI are relatively well understood, the deta
Objectives: The prevalence of several autoimmune diseases, including thyroid dysfunction, has been reported to be increased in patients with endometriosis. Upregulated thyroid stimulation hormone (TSH) receptors in ectopic endometrium and elevated serum titers of TSH receptor antibodies (TRAb) IgG in endometriosis patients indicates an overlap in pathophysiology. However, cross-reactivity with oth
BACKGROUND: The long-term course of coronary atherosclerosis has not been studied in large nationwide cohorts. Understanding the natural history of coronary atherosclerosis could help identify patients at risk for future coronary events. METHODS AND RESULTS: All coronary artery segments with <50% luminal stenosis in patients with a first-time coronary angio-gram between 1989 and 2017 were identifi
Background: The number of individuals aging with long-term spinal cord injury (SCI) is increasing. Still, there is limited knowledge about changes in secondary health conditions (SHCs) and activity limitations over time. Objectives: To determine changes in SHCs and activity limitations in older adults aging with long-term SCI over 6 years, and to investigate how changes in SHCs and activity limita
OBJECTIVE: Poor metabolic health and unhealthy lifestyle factors have been associated with risk and severity of COVID-19, but data for diet are lacking. We aimed to investigate the association of diet quality with risk and severity of COVID-19 and its interaction with socioeconomic deprivation. DESIGN: We used data from 592 571 participants of the smartphone-based COVID-19 Symptom Study. Diet info
Objective:To assess cardiovascular effects of in-utero HIV and antiretroviral treatment (ART) exposure on offspring of HIV-positive mothers in Ethiopia.Design:HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnancies were identified from a prospective cohort of women recruited at their first antenatal care visit in Ethiopia, using a nested case-control design.Methods:Fetal standard ultrasound and echocardiography
Background: Previously, we investigated tonsillar carriage of Fusobacterium necrophorum by PCR and found a high tonsillar carriage rate (21%) in asymptomatic 15-25year olds, but the same age group is most commonly affected by severe F. necrophorum infections. Interestingly, we found Cycle threshold (Ct)-values in asymptomaticcarriers to be high (median 29). Possibly, the Ct-value could differentia
Background: Previously, we investigated tonsillar carriage of Fusobacterium necrophorum by PCR and found a high tonsillar carriage rate (21%) in asymptomatic 15-25 year olds, but the same age group is most commonly affected by severe F. necrophorum infections. Interestingly, we found Cycle threshold (Ct)-values in asymptomatic carriers to be high (median 29). Possibly, the Ct-value could different
Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of tumor necrosis factor α inhibitor (TNFi) initiation on the use of antimicrobials among biologic-naïve patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Information on all biologic-naïve patients with RA was extracted from ICEBIO, a nationwide registry. Each patient was matched on age, sex, and calendar time to five randomly se
Background: As a widely distributed and aerial migratory bird, the Common Swift (Apus apus) flies over a wide geographic range in Eurasia and Africa during migration. Although some studies have revealed the migration routes and phenology of European populations, A. a. apus (from hereon the nominate apus), the route used by its East Asian counterpart A. a. pekinensis (from hereon pekinensis) remain
BackgroundHIV-associated infective native aortic aneurysms (INAA) constitute a subcategory of the disease INAA. This is a very rare group of patients.ObjectivesThe aim of this systematic literature review was to compile a description of patient characteristics with HIV-associated INAA.MethodsA systematic literature review was performed using the search terms HIV and aortic aneurysm in Ovid MEDLINE
Aortic regurgitation (AR) following continuous flow left ventricular assist device implantation (cf-LVAD) may adversely impact outcomes. We aimed to assess the incidence and impact of progressive AR after cf-LVAD on prognosis, biomarkers, functional capacity and echocardiographic findings. In an analysis of the PCHF-VAD database encompassing 12 European heart failure centers, patients were dichoto
We report a novel approach for single-shot planar imaging of CH3 radicals in premixed methane and air flames. A 213 nm beam from the 5th harmonic of an Nd:YAG laser was resonantly absorbed by the CH3 radicals, which were excited to the highly pre-dissociative upper level and dissociated to H2 and CH (X), as the main dissociation channel. The CH radicals were consequently excited by a 388 nm beam f
To improve the performance and efficiency of Al containing III-Nitride-based devices, a number of issues must be addressed, especially the presence and generation of dislocations and other structural defects. The main sources of the dislocations are growth on non-native substrates and heteroepitaxial growth of lattice-mismatched layers. We demonstrate the ability to completely avoid structural def
