Mortality in IgA Nephropathy: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: The clinical course of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) varies from asymptomatic nonprogressive to aggressive disease, with up to one in four patients manifesting ESRD within 20 years of diagnosis. Although some studies have suggested that mortality appears to be increased in IgAN, such studies lacked matched controls and did not report absolute risk.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study in Sweden, involving patients with biopsy-verified IgAN diagnosed in 1974-2011; main outcome measures were death and ESRD.

Clinical validation of immunoglobulin A nephropathy diagnosis in Swedish biopsy registers.

Aims: The aims of this study were to validate the diagnosis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) in Swedish biopsy registers against patient charts and to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with a biopsy indicating IgAN.

Methods: This is a population-based cohort study. Out of 4,069 individuals with a renal biopsy consistent with IgAN (biopsies performed in 1974-2011), this study reviewed patient charts of a random subset of 127 individuals.

Avoiding Tokamak Disruptions by Applying Static Magnetic Fields That Align Locked Modes with Stabilizing Wave-Driven Currents.

Nonrotating ("locked") magnetic islands often lead to complete losses of confinement in tokamak plasmas, called major disruptions. Here locked islands were suppressed for the first time, by a combination of applied three-dimensional magnetic fields and injected millimeter waves. The applied fields were used to control the phase of locking and so align the island O point with the region where the injected waves generated noninductive currents.

Globalization, democracy, and child health in developing countries.

Good health is crucial for human and economic development. In particular poor health in childhood is of utmost concern since it causes irreversible damage and has implications later in life. Recent research suggests globalization is a strong force affecting adult and child health outcomes.

A proposed set of metrics for standardized outcome reporting in the management of low back pain.

Background And Purpose: Outcome measurement has been shown to improve performance in several fields of healthcare. This understanding has driven a growing interest in value-based healthcare, where value is defined as outcomes achieved per money spent. While low back pain (LBP) constitutes an enormous burden of disease, no universal set of metrics has yet been accepted to measure and compare outcomes.