Exposure to Lead and Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis: A Swedish Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study.

Background: Lead is an established causal risk factor for coronary heart disease. Atherosclerosis may be the key mediator for this association, but evidence from studies in humans is limited. Our objective was to test the hypothesis that environmental lead exposure is associated with coronary atherosclerosis.

Probabilistic analysis of tumor growth inhibition models to Support trial design.

A large enough sample size of patients is required to statistically show that one treatment is better than another. However, too large a sample size is expensive and can also result in findings that are statistically significant, but not clinically relevant. How sample sizes should be chosen is a well-studied problem in classical statistics and analytical expressions can be derived from the appropriate test statistic.

The SAM-Krom biomonitoring study shows occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium and increased genotoxicity in Denmark.

Background: Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a carcinogen. Exposure to Cr(VI) may occur in different industrial processes such as chrome plating and stainless steel welding. The aim of this study was to assess occupational exposure to Cr(VI) in Denmark.

Socio-demographic inequalities influence differences in the chemical exposome among Swedish adolescents.

Relatively little is known about the relationship between socio-demographic factors and the chemical exposome in adolescent populations. This knowledge gap hampers global efforts to meet certain UN sustainability goals. The present work addresses this problem in Swedish adolescents by discerning patterns within the chemical exposome and identify demographic groups susceptible to heightened exposures.

Assessing the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks of metals in the drinking water of Isfahan, Iran.

Metals are significant contributors to water pollution, posing serious threats to human health. This study aims to assess the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks associated with metals in Isfahan drinking water. Eighty water samples were randomly collected from the city's distribution network between January and March 2020-2021.

Lead, cadmium, and mercury blood levels in schoolchildren in southern Sweden: Time trends over the last decades.

To prevent diseases arising from exposure to toxic metals, more knowledge about their temporal changes is needed, especially in children, the most vulnerable group. This study follows temporal changes in blood lead (BPb), mercury (BHg) and cadmium (BCd) levels in schoolchildren (8-11 years old) from two cities in southern Sweden. One blood sample per 773 children was used for time trend analyses between 2007 and 2022.

Hexavalent chromium still a concern in Sweden - Evidence from a cross-sectional study within the SafeChrom project.

Objectives: Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is classified as a human carcinogen. Occupational Cr(VI) exposure can occur during different work processes, but the current exposure to Cr(VI) at Swedish workplaces is unknown.

Methods: This cross-sectional study (SafeChrom) recruited non-smoking men and women from 14 companies with potential Cr(VI) exposure (n = 113) and controls from 6 companies without Cr(VI) exposure (n = 72).

A regional comparison of children's blood cadmium, lead, and mercury in rural, urban and industrial areas of six European countries, and China, Ecuador, and Morocco.

Objectives: The authors aimed to evaluate whether blood cadmium (B-Cd), lead (B-Pb) and mercury (B-Hg) in children differ regionally in 9 countries, and to identify factors correlating with exposure.

Material And Methods: The authors performed a cross-sectional study of children aged 7-14 years, living in 2007-2008 in urban, rural, or potentially polluted ("hot spot") areas (ca. 50 children from each area, in total 1363 children) in 6 European and 3 non-European countries.

Effects of whole-grain cereals on fecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acids in dogs: a comparison of rye, oats and wheat.

Dietary fiber in dog food is reported to promote healthy gut microbiota, but few studies have investigated the effects of whole-grain cereals, which contain a variety of fiber types and other bioactive compounds. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of diets containing whole-grain rye (RYE), oats (OAT) and wheat (WHE) on fecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acid production. Eighteen dogs were fed three experimental diets, each for four weeks, in a cross-over design.

Exposure of Swedish adolescents to elements, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and rapidly excreted substances - The Riksmaten adolescents 2016-17 national survey.

Adolescence is a period of significant physiological changes, and likely a sensitive window to chemical exposure. Few nation-wide population-based studies of chemical body burdens in adolescents have been published. In the national dietary survey Riksmaten Adolescents (RMA) 2016-17, over 13 chemical substance groups, including elements, chlorinated/brominated/fluorinated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were analysed in blood, and in urine metabolites of phthalates/phthalate alternatives, phosphorous flame retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and pesticides, along with bisphenols and biocide/preservative/antioxidant/UV filter substances (N = 1082, ages 11-21).

Effects of rye inclusion in dog food on fecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acids.

Background: Rye intake has been associated with beneficial effects on health in human interventions, possibly due to dietary fiber in rye. In dogs, few studies have explored the effects on health of dietary fiber in general, and rye fiber in particular. The aim of this study was to investigate how inclusion of rye, compared with wheat, influenced fecal microbiota composition, short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) in dogs.

Age Rather Than Supplementation with Oat β-Glucan Influences Development of the Intestinal Microbiota and SCFA Concentrations in Suckling Piglets.

The effects of early supplementation with oat β-glucan during the suckling period on piglet gut microbiota composition, concentrations of short-chain fatty acids, and gut physiological markers were assessed. Fifty piglets from five litters, balanced for sex and birth weight, were divided within litters into two treatment groups: β-glucan and control. Piglets in the β-glucan group received the supplement three times/week from day 7 of age until weaning.

Long-term functional consequences of cranial nerve injuries after carotid endarterectomy.

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate long-term patient consequences of cranial nerve injury (CNI) caused by carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in patients with identified CNI at the 30-day follow-up.

Methods: Consecutive patients operated for symptomatic carotid artery stenosis 2015-2019 with a documented CNI at the 30-day follow-up after CEA were recruited to this cross-sectional survey. Telephone interviews were conducted >1 year after CEA utilizing survey instruments developed to uncover CNI symptoms.

Lead-exposure associated miRNAs in humans and Alzheimer's disease as potential biomarkers of the disease and disease processes.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that eventually affects memory and behavior. The identification of biomarkers based on risk factors for AD provides insight into the disease since the exact cause of AD remains unknown. Several studies have proposed microRNAs (miRNAs) in blood as potential biomarkers for AD.

Low-level exposure to lead, cadmium and mercury, and histopathological findings in kidney biopsies.

Background: Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) are all nephrotoxic metals, and a large part of the body burden of Cd and Hg is found in the kidneys. There are, however, few studies on associations between exposure to these toxic metals and renal biopsy findings, and none at low-level exposure.

Aim: To examine the hypothesis that low-level concentration of Pb, Cd or Hg in the kidneys is associated with histopathological changes in the kidneys.

Nowcasting (Short-Term Forecasting) of COVID-19 Hospitalizations Using Syndromic Healthcare Data, Sweden, 2020.

We report on local nowcasting (short-term forecasting) of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hospitalizations based on syndromic (symptom) data recorded in regular healthcare routines in Östergötland County (population ≈465,000), Sweden, early in the pandemic, when broad laboratory testing was unavailable. Daily nowcasts were supplied to the local healthcare management based on analyses of the time lag between telenursing calls with the chief complaints (cough by adult or fever by adult) and COVID-19 hospitalization. The complaint cough by adult showed satisfactory performance (Pearson correlation coefficient r>0.

Predicting regional COVID-19 hospital admissions in Sweden using mobility data.

The transmission of COVID-19 is dependent on social mixing, the basic rate of which varies with sociodemographic, cultural, and geographic factors. Alterations in social mixing and subsequent changes in transmission dynamics eventually affect hospital admissions. We employ these observations to model and predict regional hospital admissions in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cadmium Exposure and Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study of Swedish Middle-Aged Adults.

Background: The general population is ubiquitously exposed to the toxic metal cadmium through the diet and smoking. Cadmium exposure is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in myocardial infarction and stroke. Atherosclerosis is the main underlying mechanism of myocardial infarction.

Mathematical and Computational Models for Pain: A Systematic Review.

Objective: There is no single prevailing theory of pain that explains its origin, qualities, and alleviation. Although many studies have investigated various molecular targets for pain management, few have attempted to examine the etiology or working mechanisms of pain through mathematical or computational model development. In this systematic review, we identified and classified mathematical and computational models for characterizing pain.

Optimization of additive chemotherapy combinations for an in vitro cell cycle model with constant drug exposures.

Proliferation of an in vitro population of cancer cells is described by a linear cell cycle model with n states, subject to provocation with m chemotherapeutic compounds. Minimization of a linear combination of constant drug exposures is considered, with stability of the system used as a constraint to ensure a stable or shrinking cell population. The main result concerns the identification of redundant compounds, and an explicit solution formula for the case where all exposures are nonzero.