207 research outputs found
The effect of saturation on resin flow in injection pultrusion: a preliminary numerical study
Intracerebral Hemorrhage among Blood Donors and Their Transfusion Recipients
Importance: Recent reports have suggested that cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a common cause of multiple spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs), may be transmissible through parenteral injection of contaminated cadaveric pituitary hormone in humans. Objective: To determine whether spontaneous ICH in blood donors after blood donation is associated with development of spontaneous ICH in transfusion recipients. Design, Setting, and Participants: Exploratory retrospective cohort study using nationwide blood bank and health register data from Sweden (main cohort) and Denmark (validation cohort) and including all 1089370 patients aged 5 to 80 years recorded to have received a red blood cell transfusion from January 1, 1970 (Sweden), or January 1, 1980 (Denmark), until December 31, 2017. Exposures: Receipt of red blood cell transfusions from blood donors who subsequently developed (1) a single spontaneous ICH, (2) multiple spontaneous ICHs, or (3) no spontaneous ICH. Main Outcomes and Measures: Spontaneous ICH in transfusion recipients; ischemic stroke was a negative control outcome. Results: A total of 759858 patients from Sweden (median age, 65 [IQR, 48-73] years; 59% female) and 329512 from Denmark (median age, 64 [IQR, 50-73] years; 58% female) were included, with a median follow-up of 5.8 (IQR, 1.4-12.5) years and 6.1 (IQR, 1.5-11.6) years, respectively. Patients who underwent transfusion with red blood cell units from donors who developed multiple spontaneous ICHs had a significantly higher risk of a single spontaneous ICH themselves, compared with patients receiving transfusions from donors who did not develop spontaneous ICH, in both the Swedish cohort (unadjusted incidence rate [IR], 3.16 vs 1.12 per 1000 person-years; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 2.73; 95% CI, 1.72-4.35; P <.001) and the Danish cohort (unadjusted IR, 2.82 vs 1.09 per 1000 person-years; adjusted HR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.04-5.19; P =.04). No significant difference was found for patients receiving transfusions from donors who developed a single spontaneous ICH in the Swedish cohort (unadjusted IR, 1.35 vs 1.12 per 1000 person-years; adjusted HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.84-1.36; P =.62) nor the Danish cohort (unadjusted IR, 1.36 vs 1.09 per 1000 person-years; adjusted HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.70-1.60; P =.73), nor for ischemic stroke as a negative control outcome. Conclusions and Relevance: In an exploratory analysis of patients who received red blood cell transfusions, patients who underwent transfusion with red blood cells from donors who later developed multiple spontaneous ICHs were at significantly increased risk of spontaneous ICH themselves. This may suggest a transfusion-transmissible agent associated with some types of spontaneous ICH, although the findings may be susceptible to selection bias and residual confounding, and further research is needed to investigate if transfusion transmission of cerebral amyloid angiopathy might explain this association.
The use of prescriptions for antibiotics and antifungals in Danish blood donors with dry skin
Relative Validity and Reproducibility of a Web-Based Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire in the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health—Next Generations MAX Study
The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is designed to capture an individual’s habitual dietary intake and is the most applied method in nutritional epidemiology. Our aim was to assess the relative validity and reproducibility of the FFQ used in the Diet, Cancer, and Health—Next Generations cohort (DCH-NG). We included 415 Danish women and men aged 18–67 years. Spearman’s correlations coefficients, Bland–Altman limits of agreement and cross-classification between dietary intakes estimated from the FFQ administered at baseline (FFQbaseline), and the mean of three 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDRs) and the FFQ administered after 12 months (FFQ12 months) were determined. Nutrient intakes were energy-adjusted by Nutrient Density and Residual methods. Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.18–0.58 for energy and energy-adjusted nutrient intakes, and the percentage of participants classified into the same quartile ranged from 28–47% between the FFQbaseline and the 24-HDRs. For the FFQ12 months compared with FFQbaseline, correlation coefficients ranged from 0.52–0.88 for intakes of energy, energy-adjusted nutrients, and food groups, and the proportion of participants classified into the same quartiles ranged from 43–69%. Overall, the FFQ provided a satisfactory ranking of individuals according to energy, nutrient, and food group intakes, making the FFQ suitable for use in epidemiological studies investigating diet in relation to disease outcomes
Quasiparticle interfacial level alignment of highly hybridized frontier levels: HO on TiO(110)
Knowledge of the frontier levels' alignment prior to photo-irradiation is
necessary to achieve a complete quantitative description of HO
photocatalysis on TiO(110). Although HO on rutile TiO(110) has been
thoroughly studied both experimentally and theoretically, a quantitative value
for the energy of the highest HO occupied levels is still lacking. For
experiment, this is due to the HO levels being obscured by hybridization
with TiO(110) levels in the difference spectra obtained via ultraviolet
photoemission spectroscopy (UPS). For theory, this is due to inherent
difficulties in properly describing many-body effects at the
HO-TiO(110) interface. Using the projected density of states (DOS) from
state-of-the-art quasiparticle (QP) , we disentangle the adsorbate and
surface contributions to the complex UPS spectra of HO on TiO(110). We
perform this separation as a function of HO coverage and dissociation on
stoichiometric and reduced surfaces. Due to hybridization with the TiO(110)
surface, the HO 3a and 1b levels are broadened into several peaks
between 5 and 1 eV below the TiO(110) valence band maximum (VBM). These
peaks have both intermolecular and interfacial bonding and antibonding
character. We find the highest occupied levels of HO adsorbed intact and
dissociated on stoichiometric TiO(110) are 1.1 and 0.9 eV below the VBM. We
also find a similar energy of 1.1 eV for the highest occupied levels of HO
when adsorbed dissociatively on a bridging O vacancy of the reduced surface. In
both cases, these energies are significantly higher (by 0.6 to 2.6 eV) than
those estimated from UPS difference spectra, which are inconclusive in this
energy region. Finally, we apply self-consistent QP (scQP1) to obtain
the ionization potential of the HO-TiO(110) interface.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, 1 tabl
EHMTI-0398. Long term safety of the ATI neurostimulation system for the treatment of cluster headache
Measuring care of the elderly: psychometric testing and modification of the Time in Care instrument for measurement of care needs in nursing homes
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aging entails not only a decrease in the ability to be active, but also a trend toward increased dependence to sustain basic life functions. An important aspect for appropriately elucidating the individual's care needs is the ability to measure them both simply and reliably. Since 2006 a new version of the Time in Care needs (TIC-n) instrument (19-item version) has been explored and used in one additional municipality with the same structure as the one described in an earlier study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The TIC-n assessment was conducted on a total of 1282 care recipients. Factor analysis (principal component) was applied to explore the construct validity of the TIC-n. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to test reliability and for each of the items remaining in the instrument after factor analysis, an inter-rater comparison was carried out on all recipients in both municipalities. Independently of each other, a weighted Kappa (K<sub>w</sub>) was calculated. Results. The mean of each weighted Kappa (K<sub>w</sub>) for the dimensions in the two municipalities was 0.75 and 0.76, respectively. Factor analysis showed that all 19 items had a factor loading of ≥ 0.40. Three factors (General Care, Medical Care and Cognitive Care) were created.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The TIC-n instrument has now been tested for validity and reliability in two municipalities with satisfactory results. However, TIC-n can not yet be used as a golden standard, but it can be recommended for use of measurement of individual care needs in municipal elderly care.</p
Impact of cumulative body mass index and cardiometabolic diseases on survival among patients with colorectal and breast cancer: a multi-centre cohort study
BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) and cardiometabolic comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes have been studied as negative prognostic factors in cancer survival, but possible dependencies in the mechanisms underlying these associations remain largely unexplored. We analysed these associations in colorectal and breast cancer patients. METHODS: Based on repeated BMI assessments of cancer-free participants from four European countries in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC) study, individual BMI-trajectories reflecting predicted mean BMI between ages 20 to 50 years were estimated using a growth curve model. Participants with incident colorectal or breast cancer after the age of 50 years were included in the survival analysis to study the prognostic effect of mean BMI and cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) prior to cancer. CMD were defined as one or more chronic conditions among stroke, myocardial infarction, and type 2 diabetes. Hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) of mean BMI and CMD were derived using multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression for mean BMI and CMD separately and both exposures combined, in subgroups of localised and advanced disease. RESULTS: In the total cohort of 159,045 participants, there were 1,045 and 1,620 eligible patients of colorectal and breast cancer. In colorectal cancer patients, a higher BMI (by 1 kg/m2) was associated with a 6% increase in risk of death (95% CI of HR: 1.02-1.10). The HR for CMD was 1.25 (95% CI: 0.97-1.61). The associations for both exposures were stronger in patients with localised colorectal cancer. In breast cancer patients, a higher BMI was associated with a 4% increase in risk of death (95% CI: 1.00-1.08). CMDs were associated with a 46% increase in risk of death (95% CI: 1.01-2.09). The estimates and CIs for BMI remained similar after adjustment for CMD and vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that cumulative exposure to higher BMI during early to mid-adulthood was associated with poorer survival in patients with breast and colorectal cancer, independent of CMD prior to cancer diagnosis. The association between a CMD diagnosis prior to cancer and survival in patients with breast and colorectal cancer was independent of BMI
Angiopoietin-1 alters microvascular permeability coefficients in vivo via modification of endothelial glycocalyx
The atomic simulation environment — a python library for working with atoms
The Atomic Simulation Environment (ASE) is a software package written in the Python programming language with the aim of setting up, steering, and analyzing atomistic simula- tions. In ASE, tasks are fully scripted in Python. The powerful syntax of Python combined with the NumPy array library make it possible to perform very complex simulation tasks. For example, a sequence of calculations may be performed with the use of a simple "for-loop" construction. Calculations of energy, forces, stresses and other quantities are performed through interfaces to many external electronic structure codes or force fields using a uniform interface. On top of this calculator interface, ASE provides modules for performing many standard simulation tasks such as structure optimization, molecular dynamics, handling of constraints and performing nudged elastic band calculations
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