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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) booster doses decrease infection transmission and disease severity. This study aimed to assess the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses in low, middle, and high-income countries of the East Mediterranean Region (EMR) and its determinants using the health belief model (HBM). In addition, we aimed to identify the causes of booster dose rejection and the main so

Background: This study aimed to evaluate whether an increasing grade of obesity is associated with inferior outcomes after lumbar disc herniation (LDH) surgery. Methods: We retrieved data from the Swedish register for spine surgery regarding patients aged 20–64 who underwent LDH surgery from 2006–2016 and had preoperative and one-year postoperative data. A total of 4156 patients were normal weight

A major unanswered question in the dementia field is whether cognitively unimpaired individuals who harbor both Alzheimer's disease neuropathological hallmarks (that is, amyloid-β plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles) can preserve their cognition over time or are destined to decline. In this large multicenter amyloid and tau positron emission tomography (PET) study (n = 1,325), we examined the

Background: Environmental exposures to industrial chemicals, including perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), may play a role in bone development and future risk of osteoporosis. However, as prospective evidence is limited, the role of developmental PFAS exposures in bone density changes in childhood is unclear. The objective of this study was to estimate associations between serum-PFAS concentrations

Background. The urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) system is involved in tissue remodelling processes and is up-regulated in many types of malignancies. We investigated whether serum levels of different forms of soluble uPA receptor (suPAR) are associated with survival and in particular with prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease mortality. Methods. Using time-resolved fluorescence immunoas

Biogeochemical cycling of silicon (Si) in the Barents Sea is under considerable pressure from physical and chemical changes, including dramatic warming and sea ice retreat, together with a decline in dissolved silicic acid (DSi) concentrations of Atlantic inflow waters since 1990. Associated changes in the community composition of phytoplankton blooms will alter the material comprising the deposit

Background: Adolescent pregnancy and associated neonatal mortality are major global health challenges. In low-income settings where 90% of the 21 million global adolescent pregnancies occur, half are unintended and a fifth experience unsafe abortion. In Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, the survival patterns of neonates born to adolescents are unclear.Objectives: To assess survival patterns among neona

BACKGROUND: The widespread use of intramedullary nails (IMNs) compared with sliding hip screws (SHSs) in extracapsular hip fractures (AO/OTA 31-A1, 31-A2, 31-A3) has been questioned because of a higher complication rate, although the outcome might have improved through more recent implant designs and the learning curve. This study aimed to investigate if there is a difference with regard to the cu

Objectives The primary aim of the present study was to investigate the putative excess mortality by suicide in suicide attempters. As a secondary aim, we investigate excess mortality in specific, clinically relevant subgroups: individuals with repeated suicide attempts (RA); individuals who used violent method at the attempt (VA); and those who scored high on the Suicide Intent Scale (HS) at the t

BACKGROUND: Lead exposure has been associated with increased incidence of adverse clinical cardiovascular outcomes. Atherosclerosis has been suggested as one of the underlying mechanisms, and findings from experimental studies support this, but human data are scarce. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to determine the association between environmental lead exposure based on blood lead (B-Pb) concentrat

Greater central artery stiffness is observed in people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Elevated blood pressure (BP) and altered arterial wall structure/composition in T2DM are generally considered as main drivers for this alteration. However, because conventional arterial stiffness measures are BP-dependent and as such an influence of BP remains in a measure, it is unclear if greater central artery s

OBJECTIVE: To explore associations of HLA class II genes (HLAII) with the progression of islet autoimmunity from asymptomatic to symptomatic type 1 diabetes (T1D).RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Next-generation targeted sequencing was used to genotype eight HLAII genes (DQA1, DQB1, DRB1, DRB3, DRB4, DRB5, DPA1, DPB1) in 1,216 participants from the Diabetes Prevention Trial-1 and Randomized Diabetes P

It is presently unclear whether free serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D (S 25(OH)D) better reflects bone health than total S 25(OH)D. We have previously shown that summer total S 25(OH)D values are more useful to predict bone mineral density (BMD) than winter values. Our objective was therefore to compare the relative importance of free and total S 25(OH)D for BMD by season. BMD was measured by dual energy

ims In atrial fibrillation (AF), a relation between electrocardiogram (ECG) fibrillatory wave amplitude and thrombus formation has been sought for long with conflicting results. In contrast, the possible relation between atrial fibrillatory rate obtained from the surface ECG and left atrial thrombus formation in patients with AF is unknown and was consequently evaluated in this study. Methods and

Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) mainly affects renal arteries. Percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) and surgery are effective treatments, but longtime follow-up is lacking. Retrospective follow-up for 7.0 +/- 4.7 years of 69 consecutive patients ( age 44 +/- 13 years) treated for hypertension due to FMD, 59 patients underwent PTRA and eight patients surgery. In two patients no PTRA was

Background and aims. Adverse events (AE) leading to discontinuation or dose-reduction of thiopurine therapy (TP) occur in 9-28% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. 6-Thioguanine (6-TG) has been proposed as an alternative treatment in patients intolerant for azathioprine (AZA), but some concerns have been raised about drug safety. Methods. We evaluated in a prospective manner the tolerance

Background The alpha-emitter radium-223 (Ra-223) is a bone-seeking radionuclide studied as a new treatment for patients with bone metastases from hormone-refractory prostate cancer. We aimed to study mature outcomes from a randomised, multicentre, phase II study of Ra-223. Methods Patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer and bone pain needing external-beam radiotherapy were assigned to fou

A rheological study of mixed micelles formed by PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymer P123 and nonionic surfactant C12EO6 in aqueous solutions has been carried out with the purpose of investigating the time dependence of a shape transition of the mixed micelles and characterizing the shape before and after the transition. The rheology results presented in this report give clear evidence that the P123-C12

Urban Sprawl is one of the challenges to urban development in many nations. Different aspects of the phenomenon have been researched with a view to providing solutions to myriad of ills attributed to it. For any meaningful intervention, however, assessment of development to ascertain sprawl is essential. Despite this, its quantification and monitoring in environment with paucity of data remains a

Stjärnor sägs vara astronomins tidskapsel, genom att studera stjärnor kan vi bättre förstå många fenomen. Stjärnor är en viktig del av vårt universum från det att de skapas till det att de dör. De berikar vårt universum med olika grundämnen som krävs för att planeter ska bildas och för att liv ska uppstå. Det verkar då självklart varför man vill undersöka och förstå alla aspekter kring stjärnbildnThis is a thesis project, analysing data from high-resolution imaging observations, specifically speckle imaging, as a follow up study of exoplanet host stars observed with K2, the second operational phase of the space telescope Kepler. The project was accomplished at NASA Ames research center under the guidance of Rachel A. Matson, during an internship in collaboration with the Swedish National S