Background: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is characterized by diffuse thickening of the arterial intima. Statins reduce the incidence of CAV, but despite the use of statins, CAV remains one of the leading causes of long-term death after heart transplant. Inhibitors of proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) substantially reduce cholesterol levels but have not been tested in he

Objective: This paper aims at examining the clinical characteristics of ischemic stroke patients with different levels of prestroke functional dependency, their long-term outcome, and determinants of five-year mortality. Materials and methods: We describe demographics, comorbidity, treatment, as well as long-term mortality, and functional status of 5899 prestroke-dependent ischemic stroke patients

Background: Severe alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), phenotype PiZZ, was associated with venous thromboembolism (VTE) in a case-control study. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the genetic variation in the SERPINA1 gene and a possible thrombotic risk of these variants in a population-based cohort study. Patients/Methods: The coding sequence of SERPINA1 was analyzed for the Z (rs289294

Background and objective: The most common way of closing the cystic duct in laparoscopic cholecystectomy is by using metal clips (>80%). Nevertheless, bile leakage occurs in 0.4%–2.0% of cases, and thus causes significant morbidity. However, the optimal number of clips needed to avoid bile leakage has not been determined. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate bile leakage and post-procedur

Accelerated epigenetic ageing, a promising marker of disease risk, has been detected in peripheral blood cells of atherosclerotic patients, but evidence in the vascular wall is lacking. Understanding the trends of epigenetic ageing in the atheroma may provide insights into mechanisms of atherogenesis or identify targets for molecular therapy. We surveyed DNA methylation age in two human artery sam

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a widely accepted safe, simple and rapid diagnostic procedure used in the examination of neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions of various locations. Since its introduction, FNAC has developed into an effective diagnostic tool practiced in a large majority of medical centres evaluating and treating oncological patients. The role of FNAC has been limited in

The purpose of this study is to explore whether, and if so how, a design activity could encourage students to express and develop knowledge on emerging technology in relation to issues about sustainability. Several researchers have asserted that, in today’s technologically dependent society, it is important to be able to control technology and make informed decisions connected to technology. Desig

Background: Limited scientific evidence for prevention and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers in elderly with comorbidities. Aim: To explore patient-related factors and outcomes in patients ≥75 years with diabetes and a foot ulcer. Method: Sub-analysis of consecutively presenting patients ≥75 years (N = 1008) from a previous study on 2,480 patients with diabetic foot ulcer treated in a multidiscipl

Reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) can progress to kidney failure. Risk factors include genetics and diabetes mellitus (DM), but little is known about their interaction. We conducted genome-wide association meta-analyses for estimated GFR based on serum creatinine (eGFR), separately for individuals with or without DM (nDM = 178,691, nnoDM = 1,296,113). Our genome-wide searches identified (i)

A major challenge of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) is to translate phenotypic associations into biological insights. Here, we integrate a large GWAS on blood lipids involving 1.6 million individuals from five ancestries with a wide array of functional genomic datasets to discover regulatory mechanisms underlying lipid associations. We first prioritize lipid-associated genes with expressi

Common genetic variants explain less variation in complex phenotypes than inferred from family-based studies, and there is a debate on the source of this ‘missing heritability’. We investigated the contribution of rare genetic variants to tobacco use with whole-genome sequences from up to 26,257 unrelated individuals of European ancestries and 11,743 individuals of African ancestries. Across four

This prospective study reports the design and results obtained after the EMPODaT project implementation. This project was funded by the Tempus programme of the European Commission with the objective to implement a common postgraduate programme on organ donation and transplantation (ODT) in six selected universities from Middle East/North Africa (MENA) countries (Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco). The co

Exocytosis in excitable cells is essential for their physiological functions. Although the exocytotic machinery controlling cellular secretion has been well investigated, the function of the vesicular cargo, i.e. secretory granular content remains obscure. Here we combine dSTORM imaging and single-domain insulin antibody, to dissect the in situ structure of insulin granule cores (IGCs) at nano lev

Solar access describes the capacity of urban spaces to receive sunlight and daylight. Rapid urbanization and unbridled densification pose a threat to sustainable solar access, reducing the penetration of sunlight and daylight into cities. To effectively assess solar access at such an early design stage, at the urban planning level, it is critical that evaluation metrics are simple and reliable. Th

The European Union has a low-carbon roadmap that aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions toprevent further climate change and achieve climate-neutrality by 2050. Many of the historical buildings that wehave today will still be around in 2050. Hence, there is a need to improve their energy performance. A way to dothis is to use hemp-lime as a material for renovation. Hemp shiv, the woody core par

Aims/hypothesis: Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of cancer. Prostasin is an epithelial sodium channel stimulator that has been associated with suppression of tumours, glucose metabolism and hyperglycaemia-associated tumour pathology. However, the association between prostasin, diabetes and cancer mortality has not been well investigated in humans. We aim to investigate the associatio

Calling has gained importance in the career and organization scholarship as a key concept to better explain the meaningfulness of work from a humanistic perspective. On the contrary, much debate remains about the ways a calling–and the meaningfulness intertwined with it–can transform over time. To respond to this problem in the literature, we investigate the calling of corporate social responsibil