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Background Early access to diagnosis is crucial for effective management of any disease including tuberculosis (TB). We investigated the barriers and opportunities to maximise uptake and utilisation of molecular diagnostics in routine healthcare settings. Methods Using the implementation of WHO approved TB diagnostics, Xpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis/rifampicin (MTB/RIF) and Line Probe Assay (LPA

The aim of this workshop was to assess the ability of individual autoantibody (ab) assays and their use in combination to discriminate between type 1 diabetic and control sera. Coded aliquots of sera were measured in a total of 119 assays by 49 participating laboratories in 17 countries. The sera were from 51 patients with new onset type 1 diabetes and 101 healthy control subjects with no family h

Purpose: The primary objective was to evaluate prescribing trends for topical ocular hypotensive treatment in the Nordic region during the last decade and, by population projections, estimate the glaucoma burden in 2040. A secondary objective was to analyse national variations in prescription patterns across the Nordic region. Methods: A retrospective analysis of national pharmacy data between 200

Objective The current study aimed to check whether early vascular aging, measured as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), is related to kidney function, measured as creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration (eGFR) and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), in middle-aged subjects with metabolic syndrome. Methods Participants were recruited from Lithuanian high-risk cohort (LitH

Climate change and urbanization are two major challenges when planning for sustainable energy transition in cities. The common approach for energy demand estimation is using only typical meso-scale weather data in building energy models (BEMs), which underestimates the impacts of extreme climate and microclimate variations. To quantify the impacts of such underestimation on assessing the future en

Background The protein C (PC) anticoagulant system has a key role in maintaining hemostatic balance. One missense (Ser219Gly) variant in the PC receptor (PROCR) was associated with venous thromboembolism (VTE) in genome-wide association studies. Objectives This study aimed to determine the thrombotic risk of rare and common PROCR variants in a large population-based cohort of middle-aged and older

There are many ways to acquire and process diffusion MRI (dMRI) data for group studies, but it is unknown which maximizes the sensitivity to white matter (WM) pathology. Inspired by this question, we analyzed data acquired for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) at 3T (3T-DTI and 3T-DKI) and DTI at 7T in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and healthy c

Climate change substantially affects plant phenology, resulting in earlier vegetation onset across temperate and boreal regions. Phenological shifts caused by warming may alter species interactions across trophic levels because of species-specific responses, and influence the reproductive success of dioecious species if the phenological sensitivity to warming (ST) differs between genders. We used

Water is a finite resource and should be given the attention it deserves to reduce its depletion through leakages in pipe systems. The authors implemented pressure management strategies linked to fixed and variable discharge (FAVAD), the burst and background estimate (BABE), and orifice principle methodologies to analyze a two-phased comparative method for applying optimal pressure management and

Background: Previous studies have reported Blood type O to confer a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, while secretor status and other blood groups have been suspected to have a similar effect as well. Study design and methods: To determine whether any other blood groups influence testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 severity, or prolonged COVID-19, we used a large cohort of 650,156 Danish b

Timely diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is critical for appropriate treatment/patient management. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker analysis is often used to aid diagnosis. We assessed analytical performance of second-generation (Gen II) Elecsys® CSF immunoassays (Roche Diagnostics International Ltd), and adjusted existing cut-offs, to evaluate their potential utility in clinical routine. A

Background: In advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), dyskinesias and non-motor symptoms such as sleep dysfunction can significantly impair quality of life, and high-quality management is an unmet need. Objective: To analyze changes in dyskinesia and non-motor symptoms (including sleep) among studies with levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) in patients with advanced PD. Methods: A comprehensive l

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 Elite athletes are role models for young sportspersons regarding social media use. Self-objectification, including self-sexualizing, contributes to body dissatisfaction and body shame, especially in young females. For efficient prevention of self-objectification, knowledge is needed about elite athletes’ self-presentation on social media.Objective To compare social media postings indica

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a medical condition with important consequences for women’s well-being and reproductive outcomes. Although the etiology of PCOS is not fully understood, there is increasing evidence of both genetic and environmental determinants, including development in early life. We studied a population of 977,637 singleton women born in in Sweden between 1973 and 1995, follo

Background: Noninvasive left ventricular (LV) pressure-volume (PV) loops derived by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) have recently been shown to enable characterization of cardiac hemodynamics. Thus, such PV loops could potentially provide additional diagnostic information such as contractility, arterial elastance (Ea) and stroke work (SW) currently not available in clinical routine. This study so

Objective: There is an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA). In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to, overall and stratified by sex, (i) compare ultrasound derived carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), between patients and controls, and (ii) investigate associations between cIMT, clinical disease activity and inflammati

The agricultural sector in northwestern Iran uses about 95 % of the region's available water resources and nearly 98 % of are aquifer water. Despite the regiońs previous richness in water resources, the supply is now quickly decreasing. The Ghorveh-Dehgolan sub-basin in northwestern Iran consists of three dams as well as three aquifers that supply water resources for agriculture, domestic uses, an