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BACKGROUND: Several dietary factors have been reported to be associated with risk of breast cancer, but to date, unequivocal evidence only exists for alcohol consumption. We sought to systematically assess the association between intake of 92 foods and nutrients and breast cancer risk using a nutrient-wide association study. METHODS: Using data from 272,098 women participating in the European Pros
There has been an abundance of research discussing the health implications of generalised trust and happiness over the past two decades. Both attitudes have been touted as independent predictors of morbidity and mortality, with strikingly similar trajectories and biological pathways being hypothesised. To date, however, neither trust nor happiness have been considered simultaneously as predictors
Land-use change is a major driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. Although biodiversity often shows a delayed response to land-use change, previous studies have typically focused on a narrow range of current landscape factors and have largely ignored the role of land-use history in shaping plant and animal communities and their functional characteristics. Here, we used a unique database of 220,000
The alarming loss of pollinator diversity world-wide can reduce the productivity of pollinator-dependent crops, which could have economic impacts. However, it is unclear to what extent the loss of a key native pollinator species affects crop production and farmer's profits. By experimentally manipulating the presence of colonies of a native bumblebee species Bombus pauloensis in eight apple orchar
The mutualistic symbiosis between forest trees and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) is among the most ubiquitous and successful interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. Specific species of EMF are known to colonize specific tree species, benefitting from their carbon source, and in turn, improving their access to soil water and nutrients. EMF also form extensive mycelial networks that can link multiple
Arterial stiffening is a hallmark of early vascular aging (EVA) syndrome and an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In this case-control study we sought to identify plasma metabolites associated with EVA syndrome in the setting of hypertension. An untargeted metabolomic approach was used to identify plasma metabolites in an age-, BMI-, and sex-matched groups of EVA (n
Passive integrated transponder (PIT)-tagging is commonly used in behavioural studies of fish, although long-term evaluations of effects from tagging under natural conditions are scarce. We PIT-tagged common bream Abramis brama, European perch Perca fluviatilis, pike Esox lucius and roach Rutilus rutilus, released them in their lakes of origin and recaptured them after 103–3269 days. Overall, tagge
Increasing landscape heterogeneity by restoring semi-natural elements to reverse farmland biodiversity declines is not always economically feasible or acceptable to farmers due to competition for land. We hypothesized that increasing the heterogeneity of the crop mosaic itself, hereafter referred to as crop heterogeneity, can have beneficial effects on within-field plant diversity. Using a unique
OBJECTIVE: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (i.e., increased intrahepatic triglyceride [IHTG] content), predisposes to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Adipose tissue lipolysis and hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL) are the main pathways contributing to IHTG. We hypothesized that dietary macronutrient composition influences the pathways, mediators, and magnitude of weight gain-induced ch
In addition to a rise in mean air and water temperatures, more frequent and intense extreme climate events (such as heat waves) have been recorded around the globe during the past decades. These environmental changes are projected to intensify further in the future, and we still know little about how they will affect ecological processes driving harmful cyanobacterial bloom formation. Therefore, w
Large consortia have revealed hundreds of genetic loci associated with anthropometric traits, one trait at a time. We examined whether genetic variants affect body shape as a composite phenotype that is represented by a combination of anthropometric traits. We developed an approach that calculates averaged PCs (AvPCs) representing body shape derived from six anthropometric traits (body mass index,
Plant size has been hypothesized to be a major driver of biotic interactions. However, it is little understood how plant size affects plant mutualists vs. antagonists and the plant's resulting reproductive success. We established a common garden experiment covering an interspecific plant size gradient (from 10 to 130 cm height) across 21 annual Brassicaceae species, thereby standardizing features
Oil palm expansion results in a loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. However, there are factors that influence the severity of these impacts and enhancing biodiversity within plantations is important. In the present study, we examined the role of epiphytes for supporting arthropod communities in oil palm plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia. We considered the effects of landscape c
Increased liver fat may be caused by insulin resistance and adipose tissue inflammation or by the common I148M variant in PNPLA3 at rs738409, which lacks both of these features. We hypothesised that obesity/insulin resistance rather than liver fat increases circulating coagulation factor activities. We measured plasma prothrombin time (PT, Owren method), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT
Aim The impact of multiple stressors on biodiversity is one of the most pressing questions in ecology and biodiversity conservation. Here we critically assess how often and efficiently two main drivers of global change have been simultaneously integrated into research, with the aim of providing practical solutions for better integration in the future. We focus on the integration of climate change
Forest degradation, forest fires, and wildlife poaching have devastated biodiversity in Indonesia. To assess the impact of forest degradation and the potential for recovery, we used birds as a proxy for biodiversity and assessed density estimates (hereafter density) in the degraded lowland forest of Harapan Rainforest Ecosystem Restoration Concession (HRF) in Sumatra. In this study, a total of 149
Background: Patients with Acute Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure (AHRF) who are unresponsive to appropriate medical treatment, are often treated with Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation (NPPV). Clinical predictors of the outcome of this treatment are scarce. Therefore, we evaluated the role of the biomarkers IL-8 and GDF-15 in predicting 28-day mortality in patients with AHRF who receive trea
