In stochastic modeling of infectious diseases, it has been established that variations in infectivity affect the probability of a major outbreak, but not the shape of the curves during a major outbreak, which is predicted by deterministic models (Diekmann et al., 2012). However, such conclusions are derived under idealized assumptions such as the population size tending to infinity, and the indivi

Objective: The aim was to examine the general outcome of schizophrenia after 20 years or more. Methods: Using the PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression on long-term follow-up studies of schizophrenia up until April 21, 2021. We included prospective studies with at least 20 years of follow-up on patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and the

Social media are increasingly important tools in diplomacy. Diplomats are expected to use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to communicate with each other and with both domestic and international publics. This form of communication involves displaying positive emotions to generate attention in a competitive information environment. Emotions are essential to managing pe

Background and purpose — Obesity has been associated with inferior outcomes after laminectomy due to central lumbar spinal stenosis (CLSS); we evaluated whether this occurs in surgery on national bases. Patients and methods — We retrieved pre-and 1-year postoperative data from the National Swedish Quality Registry for Spine Surgery regarding patients aged ≥ 50 with laminectomy due to CLSS in 2005–

Although nanoplastics have well-known toxic effects toward the environment and living organisms, their molecular toxicity mechanisms, including the nature of nanoparticle-cell membrane interactions, are still under investigation. Here, we employ dynamic light scattering, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, and electrophysiology to investigate the interaction between polystyren

Background and purpose — We have previously observed differences in treatment and outcome of knee arthroplasties in the Nordic countries. To evaluate the impact of Nordic collaboration in the last 15 years we aimed to compare patient demographics, methods, and revision rates in primary knee arthroplasties among the 4 Nordic countries. Patients and methods — We included 535,051 primary knee arthrop

ConspectusThe gas-liquid interface of water is environmentally relevant due to the abundance of aqueous aerosol particles in the atmosphere. Aqueous aerosols often contain a significant fraction of organics. As aerosol particles are small, surface effects are substantial but not yet well understood. One starting point for studying the surface of aerosols is to investigate the surface of aqueous so

BACKGROUND: The relationship between coping in mid- to late life and cognitive functions remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between habitual coping behaviors of a large Japanese population in their mid- to late-lives and their risk of cognitive decline 15 years later. METHODS: Overall 1,299 participants were assessed for coping behaviors (in 2000) and cognition (2014-2015)

Makerspaces are shared workshops for the public to design, innovate and prototype. These spaces are primarily located in the urban regions and provide access to 'high-tech' and traditional low-tech tools needed for innovation design. Though makerspaces are a western phenomenon, their emergence in India can be traced to the early decade of the 2010s. In this paper, we study the urban makerspaces in

Background: Having knowledge of which patients are more likely to experience fatigue during radiotherapy and the relationship between fatigue and health-related quality of life (HRQL) is important to improve identification and care of patients experiencing burdensome fatigue. Objective: To identify subgroups of patients, varying in situational, physiological, and psychological factors, who are mor

BACKGROUND: The ongoing climate change will elevate the incidence of diarrheal in 2030-2050 in Asia, including Taiwan. This study investigated associations between meteorological factors (temperature, precipitation) and burden of age-cause-specific diarrheal diseases in six regions of Taiwan using 13 years of (2004-2016) population-based data.METHODS: Weekly cause-specific diarrheal and meteorolog

For more than a century, the origin and evolution of the arthropod head and brain have eluded a unifying rationale reconciling divergent morphologies and phylogenetic relationships. Here, clarification is provided by the fossilized nervous system of the lower Cambrian lobopodian Cardiodictyon catenulum, which reveals an unsegmented head and brain comprising three cephalic domains, distinct from th

Two-dimensional (2D) cell culturing implies the cultivation of cells, isolated from an organism, to permit growth in 2D. Two-dimensional tissue culture surfaces are made of different kinds of glass and plastics with various degrees of hydrophilicity. The hydrophilicity is determined by the surface chemistry, which determines the adsorption of proteins required for cell attachment. Cellular physiol

A microenvironment is an area with a specific composition of mainly extracellular matrix (ECM) components surrounding the cells. The tight interactions between matrix molecules and cells are very important, and it is now well known that the ECM components direct cell activity and function and regulate remodeling processes during both homeostasis and pathological conditions. The lung is a very comp

In this chapter we introduce biomaterials science to a nonexpert reader in order to provide new perspectives for the development of in vitro three-dimensional models that are relevant in lung research. Specifically, we provide a comprehensive description of key concepts in the fields of biomaterials science and lung research to explain how merging them can give rise to new models of lung biology a

During inflammation, cellular glucose uptake and glycolysis are upregulated to meet an increased energy demand. For example, keratinocyte glycolysis is essential for progression of psoriasis. Therefore, understanding the regulation of glucose metabolism in keratinocytes is of importance. Here, we show that the pro-inflammatory cytokines IFNγ and TNF together rapidly induce glucose uptake, glycolys

Terbium induced nanostructures on Si(110) and their growth are thoroughly characterized by low energy electron diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, core-level and valence band photoelectron spectroscopy, and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. For low Tb coverage, a wetting layer forms with its surface fraction continuously decreasing with increasing Tb coverage in f

Importance: The behavioral variant of Alzheimer disease (bvAD) is characterized by early and predominant behavioral deficits caused by AD pathology. This AD phenotype is insufficiently understood and lacks standardized clinical criteria, limiting reliability and reproducibility of diagnosis and scientific reporting. Objective: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the bvAD literature

The breakup of the L-chondrite parent body (LCPB) in the asteroid belt at 466 Ma ago is the largest asteroid breakup documented in Earth's geological record for the past ca. three billion years. Recovery of abundant macroscopic fossil L chondrites in mid-Ordovician marine sediments as well as reconstructions of the flux of micrometeoritic chrome spinel through the ages have given much new informat