Neighbourhood immigrant density and COVID-19 infection and hospitalisation among healthcare workers in Sweden: a register-based observational study.

Introduction: We investigated whether living in immigrant-dominated neighbourhoods constituted a risk factor for COVID-19 infection and hospitalisation among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Sweden, and if so, whether such exposure exacerbated the risk of COVID-19 among immigrant HCWs.

Methods: We used population-based register data from HCWs aged 20-62 years (N=86 187) resident in 14 Swedish municipalities (3 of which are Sweden's largest metropolitan cities) on 1 January 2020. Residential neighbourhoods of the HCWs were categorised into three groups: Swedish-dominated, mixed and immigrant-dominated.

Edentulism or Poor Oral Hygiene: Which Is the Stronger Predictor for All-Cause Mortality?

: All-cause mortality consisting of several heterogeneous subgroups does not have a well-defined set of risk factors. Despite the well-described role of oral hygiene on mortality, the association between the condition of the existing dentition and mortality remains unclear. Therefore, we embarked on the current study to assess the association of oral hygiene self-care (OHS) with all-cause mortality.

MDA-DETR: Enhancing Offending Animal Detection with Multi-Channel Attention and Multi-Scale Feature Aggregation.

Conflicts between humans and animals in agricultural and settlement areas have recently increased, resulting in significant resource loss and risks to human and animal lives. This growing issue presents a global challenge. This paper addresses the detection and identification of offending animals, particularly in obscured or blurry nighttime images.

Sociodemographic characteristics and health status of women with breast cancer and COVID 19 diagnosis by menopausal status a cross sectional study.

The goal of this work is to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics and health status of women with breast cancer (BC) in association with COVID-19 by menopausal status. In a Swedish register-based cross-sectional study, we compared women with BC and with or without a positive COVID-19 test, stratified by menopausal status (age ≥ 51 years). Socioeconomic characteristics and health status (represented by diagnoses registered in 5 years- and prescription dispensed in 2 years preceding Jan 2020) were considered in association with COVID-19 diagnosis.

Remote monitoring of patients with COPD disease using a tablet system: a randomised crossover study of quality-of-life measurements.

Background: Remote patient monitoring (RPM) has been evaluated in COPD, but with varying results. We aimed to evaluate whether a tablet system that monitors disease-related parameters in patients with COPD could influence physical and mental health-related quality of life, compared with usual care (UC).

Methods: 70 patients with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) group D COPD (61% women, aged 71±8 years, forced expiratory volume in 1 s % predicted 41±13%, COPD Assessment Test (CAT) 19±7 points) were recruited at the COPD centre in Gothenburg, Sweden, and randomised to a tablet-based RPM system or UC for a 26-week period, after which they crossed over to the alternative management for another 26 weeks.

Mitochondrial homeostatic imbalance-mediated developmental toxicity to HS in embryonic zebrafish.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) is a pervasive environmental and industrial pollutant that poses a substantial threat to human health. Even short-term exposure to HS can result in severe respiratory and neurological damage. However, the underlying mechanisms of its biotoxicity remain unclear.

SARS-CoV-2 infection and risk of subsequent demyelinating diseases: national register-based cohort study.

Demyelinating diseases including multiple sclerosis are associated with prior infectious exposures, so we assessed whether SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with subsequent diagnoses of non-multiple sclerosis demyelinating diseases and multiple sclerosis. All residents of Sweden aged 3-100 years were followed between 1 January 2020 and 30 November 2022, excluding those with demyelinating disease prior to 2020, comprising 9 959 818 individuals divided into uninfected and those who were infected were categorized into those with and without hospital admission for the infection as a marker of infection severity. Cox regression assessed the risk of two separate outcomes: hospital diagnosed non-multiple sclerosis demyelinating diseases of the CNS and multiple sclerosis.

Sociodemographic differences in the response to changes in COVID-19 testing guidelines.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Sweden emphasized voluntary guidelines over mandates. We exploited a rapid change and reversal of the Public Health Agency of Sweden's COVID-19 testing guidelines for vaccinated and recently infected individuals as a quasi-experiment to examine sociodemographic differences in the response to changes in pandemic guidelines. We analyzed daily polymerase chain reaction tests from 1 October 2021 to 15 December 2021, for vaccinated or recently infected adults (≥20 years; n = 1 596 321) from three Swedish regions (Stockholm, Örebro, and Dalarna).

Economic burden and quality of life of patients with dementia in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: China has the largest number of dementia patients worldwide. The prolonged course of dementia has a serious negative impact on the economy and quality of life of patients and their families.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature about economic burden and quality of life of people with dementia in China.

Research Progress on Micro(nano)plastic-Induced Programmed Cell Death Associated with Disease Risks.

Due to their robust migration capabilities, slow degradation, and propensity for adsorbing environmental pollutants, micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) are pervasive across diverse ecosystems. They infiltrate various organisms within different food chains through multiple pathways including inhalation and dermal contact, and pose a significant environmental challenge in the 21st century. Research indicates that MNPs pose health threats to a broad range of organisms, including humans.

Free-space laser emission from Nd:YAG elliptical microdisks.

The utilization of deformed microcavities, such as elliptical microdisks, has been widely acknowledged as an effective solution for achieving free-space emission in microcavity lasers. However, the deformations introduced in the microcavity structure tend to decrease the quality factor (Q factor), resulting in weakened output intensity. To address this issue, one potential approach is to employ highly efficient laser gain media that can compensate for the negative impact of the structure on the output intensity.

Diet quality from mid to late life and its association with physical frailty in late life in a cohort of Chinese adults.

Background: It is unclear if improving diet quality after midlife could reduce the risk of physical frailty at late life. We aimed to associate changes in diet quality after midlife with physical frailty at late life.

Methods: Diet quality in 12,580 participants from the Singapore Chinese Health Study was assessed with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) scores at baseline (1993-1998; mean age 53 years) and follow-up 3 (2014-2016; mean age 73 years).

Association between Dietary Antioxidant Capacity in Midlife and Depressive Symptoms in Late Life: The Singapore Chinese Health Study.

Preclinical and limited epidemiological studies suggest that oxidative stress may be implicated in geriatric depression. Our study investigated the association between midlife dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and depressive symptoms in late life among 13,712 participants in a population-based cohort of Chinese in Singapore. At baseline (1993-1998), intake of antioxidants from diet and supplements at a mean age of 52.