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An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is defined as aortic diameter ≥30 mm measured by ultrasound. AAA prevalence increases with age and is higher in men, but has decreased during the last decades, related to lower smoking rates. Tobacco smoking, concomitant atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, and family history are the most common risk factors. AAA has atherosclerotic, inflammatory, apoptotic, a

Measuring the number concentration of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) is critical for assessing reproducibility, enabling compliance with regulation, and performing risk assessments of NP-enabled products. For nanomedicines, their number concentration directly relates to their dose. However, the lack of relevant reference materials and established traceable measurement approaches make the validation

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid for the human body and is crucial for protein synthesis. It is primarily metabolized through the kynurenine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and indole pathways. The various bioactive compounds produced through tryptophan metabolism can regulate a range of physiological functions, including digestive, metabolic, immune responses, and neurological functions. New evidence

Background: The C-reactive protein-triglyceride-glucose index (CTI) has been proposed as a novel biomarker for insulin resistance and inflammation. However, its role in the progression trajectory of cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the involvement of the CTI in the CMM progression trajectory. Methods: This prospective study included 266,049 individuals

Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is characterized by age-related somatic mutations in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSC/Ps) and is correlated with an increased risk of myeloid malignancies, elevated inflammatory pathways in circulating myeloid cells, higher all-cause mortality, chronic kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease. The pathophysiology of inflammatory

CONTEXT: Melatonin regulates circadian rhythms and influences glucose metabolism. Altered melatonin secretion may contribute to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but prospective population-based evidence is scarce.OBJECTIVE: To examine whether low nocturnal melatonin secretion is associated with an increased risk of incident T2D in adults.METHODS: This prospective cohort study, with follo

The concept of “vulnerable plaque” (VP) has been evolving since its introduction as an atherosclerotic plaque prone to cause cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Once defined as a thin-cap fibroatheroma prone to rupture, it now encompasses more atherosclerotic lesion types, including plaque erosion, fissure, and calcified nodules. Along with deeper understanding of plaq

Evidence is limited for the association between parental income during childhood and adolescence and the subsequent risk of drug use disorder (DUD) in the second generation and whether the association is modified by region of origin. Identifying the association and effect modification by immigrant background and region of origin would provide an important knowledge base to consider tailored polici

A large fraction of nitrogen (N) in forest soils is present in mineral-associated proteinaceous compounds. The strong association between proteins and minerals limits microbial accessibility to this source, which is a relatively stable reservoir of soil N. We have shown that the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungus Paxillus involutus can acquire N from iron oxide-associated proteins. Using tightly control

Effective weed control in agricultural crop fields increases yields, but simultaneously reduces floral resources for pollinators because many weed species provide pollen and nectar. Consequently, efforts to enhance crop yields on organic farms by using effective weed control methods risk compromising positive effects of organic farming on pollinating insects. Thus, it is important to find manageme

The adaptive matched filter (AMF) is a method widely used in spectral unmixing to classify different tissue chromophores in photoacoustic images. However, a threshold needs to be applied to the AMF detection image to distinguish the desired tissue chromophores from the background. In this study, we propose an automatic threshold selection (ATS) algorithm capable of differentiating a target from th

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that approximately 20% of hospital readmissions can be medication-related and 70% of these readmissions are possibly preventable. This retrospective medical records study aimed to find risk factors associated with medication-related readmissions to hospital within 30 days of discharge in older adults (≥65 years).METHODS: 30-day readmissions (n = 360) were as

OBJECTIVES: Pain is a major symptom in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In early RA, pain is usually due to synovitis, but can also persist despite effective anti-inflammatory treatment. The objective of this study was to investigate the pain course over time and predictors of unacceptable pain and unacceptable pain with low inflammation, in patients with early RA.METHODS: An inception coh

Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) to benefit biodiversity became mandatory in intensively farmed landscapes after the reform of the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2013. The implementation of EFAs as uncropped field margins has been criticized as ineffective but created a window of opportunity to test if augmenting them with annual flower strips can benefit biodiversity. In this study, we

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been extensively used as surfactants because of their high stability and good water/oil-repellent properties. PFASs, especially perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), have long biological half-lives, and exposure may cause adverse health effects in humans. We assessed temporal trends of concentrations of eight PFAAs in serum of Swedish adolescents (age 16–21

This paper systematically reviews the literature on how to reduce nutrient emissions to the Baltic Sea cost-effectively and considerations for allocating these costs fairly among countries. The literature shows conclusively that the reduction targets of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) could be achieved at considerably lower cost, if countries would cooperate to implement the least costly abateme