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IMPORTANCE: Chronic breathlessness is common in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Regular, low-dose, extended-release morphine may relieve breathlessness, but evidence about its efficacy and dosing is needed.OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of different doses of extended-release morphine on worst breathlessness in people with COPD after 1 week of treatment.DESIGN, SETTING
BACKGROUND: Neuronal damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is common, but the extent and mechanisms are unclear. Neurofilament light (NfL) concentrations rise in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during neuronal damage in various neurological disorders. In this cross-sectional study, plasma and CSF concentrations of NfL were explored as a marker of neuronal damage in SLE.METHODS: Seventy
The immune control of tuberculosis (TB) infection could be influenced by pregnancy. To elucidate this, we longitudinally characterized Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-specific and nonspecific immune responses in women during pregnancy and postpartum. HIV-uninfected women without past or current active TB, and with blood samples available from the 1st/2nd trimester, 3rd trimester, and 9 months pos
The current plastic system is unsustainable and needs to change. Plastics are mainly produced from fossil feedstock, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, and low rate of post-consumer recycling results in pollution on land and in oceans with high ecological impact, and huge loss of valuable material. There is an urgent need to find solutions for shifting the raw material base to renewable res
Surrogate measures of safety (SMoS) are meant to function as tools to investigate traffic safety. The term surrogate indicates that these measures do not rely on crash data; instead, they focus on identifying safety critical events (or near-crashes) in traffic, which can be used as an alternative to crash records. The overall aim of this thesis is to explore which SMoS are suitable when analysing
Background: Potent antithrombotic therapy has significantly improved prognosis for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), however, at a price of increased bleeding risk. Chronic gastric infection with Helicobacter pylori (Hp) commonly causes upper gastrointestinal bleeding and is proposed as a risk factor for subsequent bleeding post AMI. The prevalence of active Hp in a current AMI popu
The ice cover presence on the surface of a lake insulates the water body from the atmosphere. This prevents or reduces the influence of processes which depend on the exchange between the atmosphere and the water surface. This implies significant reduction or elimination of some processes taking place at the open water surface; for instance, a substantial reduction in solar energy penetrating to th
Aims: Ventricular longitudinal function measured as basal-apical atrioventricular plane displacement (AVPD) or global longitudinal strain (GLS) is a potent predictor of mortality and could potentially be a predictor of heart failure-associated morbidity. We hypothesized that low AVPD and GLS are associated with the combined endpoint of cardiovascular mortality and heart failure-associated morbidit
The human lung is a complex tissue consisting of a heterogeneous mix of different structures and cells, each which a specific role that together contribute to the primary function of the organ: the gas exchange. Different mesenchymal cells populate the interstitial areas around airways and blood vessels and form the connective tissue together with the extracellular matrix. Fibroblasts constitute o
Background: The relationship between dyslipidemia, inflammation and CV organ damage in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is complex. Insulin resistance and inflammatory cytokines interleukins (ILs) increase plasma triglycerides (TG). ILs also up-regulate expression of matrix-metalloproteinases (MMPs) that, together with TG, decrease high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) levels. High TG, low HDL
The concept of “Sustainable water use” (SWU) aims to assure three pillars of sustainability related to the water sector: the social, environmental, and economical. Industrial development, especially in developing countries, requires an adequate response, as industrial activities are recognized as one of the major sources of water pollution, what leads to deterioration of environmental safety and w
Disposal behaviour represent the last phase in the consumption cycle. From an environmental point of view it is extremely important to know the factors behind individual behaviour in waste handling. There are several aspects of interest, for example willingness of waste separation and re-use of products. The aim of this article is to analyse the importance of environmental concern, disposal behavi
Objective: To study the impact of GH dose and age at GH start in girls with Turner syndrome (TS), aiming for normal height and age at pubertal onset (PO) and at adult height (AH). However, age at diagnosis will limit treatment possibilities. Methods: National multicenter investigator-initiated studies (TNR 87-052-01 and TNR 88-072) in girls with TS, age 3–16 years at GH start during year 1987–1998
Importance: Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is presently approved for treatment of advanced breast cancer and after incomplete response to neoadjuvant therapy, but the potential of T-DM1 as monotherapy is so far unknown. Objective: To assess pathologic complete response (pCR) to standard neoadjuvant therapy of combination docetaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab (DTP) vs T-DM1 monotherapy in patients
Importance: The association between long sleep duration and mortality appears stronger in East Asian populations than in North American or European populations. Objectives: To assess the sex-specific association between sleep duration and all-cause and major-cause mortality in a pooled longitudinal cohort and to stratify the association by age and body mass index. Design, Setting, and Participants
Importance: Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) may contribute to the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) through its association with inflammation and cardiac remodeling. Objective: To determine whether CHIP was associated with AF, inflammatory and cardiac biomarkers, and cardiac structural changes. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a population-based, prospective cohort
Background: In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the associations between tau pathology and brain atrophy and cognitive decline are well established, but imperfect. We investigate whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of biological processes (vascular, synaptic, and axonal integrity, neuroinflammation, neurotrophic factors) explain the disconnection between tau pathology and brain atrophy (brain re
Background: Up-to-date estimates of stroke burden and attributable risks and their trends at global, regional, and national levels are essential for evidence-based health care, prevention, and resource allocation planning. We aimed to provide such estimates for the period 1990–2021. Methods: We estimated incidence, prevalence, death, and disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) counts and age-standard
There is an urgent need for accurate and validated methods to measure plasma phosphorylated tau (p-Tau) biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we compared the performance of new commercially available plasma p-Tau217 assay developed by ALZpath to other established p-Tau assays in an autopsy-confirmed sample. We included 72 participants from the Arizona Study of Aging and Neurodegen
