Endothelial dysfunction is associated with impaired lung function in two independent community cohorts.

Background: Prior studies investigating the association between endothelial dysfunction and impaired lung function have been small and inconsistent. The primary aim was to investigate the association between endothelial function and lung function in two community-based cohorts.

Methods: We used a discovery/replication approach to study the association between endothelial function and lung function in the Prospective investigation of Obesity, Energy and Metabolism (POEM, discovery cohort, n = 490, mean age 50.

Dendritic cell maturation in the corneal epithelium with onset of type 2 diabetes is associated with tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 9.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by a low-grade inflammation; however, mechanisms leading to this inflammation in specific tissues are not well understood. The eye can be affected by diabetes; thus, we hypothesized that inflammatory changes in the eye may parallel the inflammation that develops with diabetes. Here, we developed a non-invasive means to monitor the status of inflammatory dendritic cell (DC) subsets in the corneal epithelium as a potential biomarker for the onset of inflammation in type 2 diabetes.

Can the Plasma Concentration Ratio of Triglyceride/High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Identify Individuals at High Risk of Cardiovascular Disease During 40-Year Follow-Up?

Background: The plasma concentration ratio of triglyceride (TG)/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is a simple way to estimate insulin resistance. We aimed to evaluate the TG/HDL-C ratio as a simple clinical way to identify apparently healthy individuals with insulin resistance and enhanced risk of future cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods: One thousand seven hundred twenty men, aged 50 years, free from diabetes and CVD when evaluated at baseline in 1970-1974 were followed for 40 years regarding incident CVD (myocardial infarction and/or ischemic stroke, n = 576).

Kinematic Components of the Reach-to-Target Movement After Stroke for Focused Rehabilitation Interventions: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Better upper limb recovery after stroke could be achieved through tailoring rehabilitation interventions directly at movement deficits. To synthesiz findings of differences in kinematics and muscle activity between stroke survivors and healthy adults performing reach-to-target tasks. A systematic review with identification of studies, data extraction, and potential risk of bias was completed independently by two reviewers.

Supporting patients learning to live with diabetes: a phenomenological study.

This article describes a study of the phenomenon of supporting patients who are learning to live with diabetes, from a diabetes specialist nurse (DSN) perspective. Guided by principles of reflective lifeworld research, data from six interviews (four in groups and two individual) with 16 DSNs were analysed. The results show that, in order to support learning, DSNs use a self-critical approach with the insight that they should not take over responsibility for their patients' diabetes.

Circulating endostatin and the incidence of heart failure.

Objective: Circulating levels of endostatin are elevated in many underlying conditions leading to heart failure such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and ischemic heart disease. Yet, the association between endostatin and the incidence of heart failure has not been reported previously in the community.

Design: We investigated the longitudinal association between serum endostatin levels and incident heart failure in two community-based cohorts of elderly: Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS, n = 966; mean age 70 years, 51% women, 81 events, mean follow-up 10 years) and Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM, n = 747 men; mean age 78 years, 98 heart failure events, mean follow-up 8 years).

Negotiating boundaries of care: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the relational conflicts surrounding home mechanical ventilation following traumatic spinal cord injury.

The aim of this study is to explore the phenomena of mechanical ventilation following traumatic spinal cord injury from three simultaneous perspectives; patients who require full-time mechanical ventilation ( = 8), their informal family carers ( = 8) and their formal carers ( = 11). We focus upon the intra and inter- personal challenges of establishing boundaries within the triad. Qualitative study.

Adaptation and evaluation of the Family Involvement and Alienation Questionnaire for use in the care of older people, psychiatric care, palliative care and diabetes care.

Aim: To adapt the Family Involvement and Alienation Questionnaire (FIAQ) for use in the care of older people, psychiatric care, palliative care and diabetes care and to evaluate its validity and reliability.

Background: Involvement in the professional care has proven to be important for family members. However, they have described feelings of alienation in relation to how they experienced the professionals' approach.

Levels of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 and 2, gender, and risk of myocardial infarction in Northern Sweden.

Background And Aims: Soluble receptors for tumor necrosis factor alpha (sTNFR1 and sTNFR2) have been associated with cardiovascular diseases, and some evidence points towards a difference in associated risk between men and women. We aimed to study the association between sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 and incident myocardial infarctions (MI) and to explore the influence of established cardiovascular risk factors in men and women.

Methods: We conducted a nested case control study in three large Swedish cohorts, including 533 myocardial infarction cases, and 1003 age-, sex- and cohort-matched controls.

The association between circulating endostatin and a disturbed circadian blood pressure pattern in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Endostatin, cleaved from collagen XVIII in the extracellular matrix, is a promising circulating biomarker for cardiovascular damage. It possesses anti-angiogenic and anti-fibrotic functions and has even been suggested to be involved in blood pressure regulation. Less is known if endostatin levels relate to circadian blood pressure patterns.

Factors of importance to 30-day survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest in Sweden - A population-based register study of more than 18,000 cases.

Background And Objective: In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) constitutes a major contributor to cardiovascular mortality. The aim of the present study was to investigate factors of importance to 30-day survival after IHCA in Sweden.

Methods: A retrospective register study based on the Swedish Register of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (SRCPR) 2006-2015.

Targeted proteomic analysis of habitual coffee consumption.

Background: Coffee drinking has been implicated in mortality and a variety of diseases but potential mechanisms underlying these associations are unclear. Large-scale systems epidemiological approaches may offer novel insights to mechanisms underlying associations of coffee with health.

Objective: We performed an analysis of known and novel protein markers linked to cardiovascular disease and their association with habitual coffee intake in the Prospective Study of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS, n = 816) and followed up top proteins in the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM, n = 635) and EpiHealth (n = 2418).

Use of key performance indicators in histological dissection.

Aims: Reports into standards in the National Health Service and quality in pathology have focused on the way we work in pathology and how to provide assurance that this is of a high standard. There are a number of external quality assurance schemes covering pathology and histopathology specifically; however, there is no scheme covering the process of histological surgical dissection. This is an area undergoing development, emerging from the sole preserve of medically qualified pathologists to a field populated by a number of highly trained biomedical scientists, but remains without any formal quality assurance.

Use of Proteomics To Investigate Kidney Function Decline over 5 Years.

Background And Objectives: Using a discovery/replication approach, we investigated associations between a multiplex panel of 80 circulating proteins associated with cardiovascular pathology or inflammation, and eGFR decline per year and CKD incidence.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We used two cohorts, the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors Study (PIVUS; =687, mean age of 70 years, 51% women) and the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM; =360 men, mean age of 78 years), with 5-year follow-up data on eGFR. There were 231 and 206 incident cases of CKD during follow-up in the PIVUS and ULSAM studies, respectively.

Understanding nurses' concerns when caring for patients from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Aims And Objectives: To explore the experiences of both student and qualified nurses of caring for patients from diverse cultural, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, in one region of Ireland. Hearing the stories, experiences and attitudes of nurses has the potential to influence future clinical practice and has implication for nurses, nurse educators and nurse managers and leaders.

Background: There is a wealth of international literature highlighting the importance of providing culturally sensitive care.

Predictors of Linear and Multidirectional Acceleration in Elite Soccer Players.

Jonathan, N, Russell, M, Shearer, D, Cook, CJ, and Kilduff, LP. Predictors of linear and multidirectional acceleration in elite soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 33(2): 514-522, 2019-Linear and multidirectional acceleration underpins success in professional soccer match play.

Testing continuum models of psychosis: No reduction in source monitoring ability in healthy individuals prone to auditory hallucinations.

People with schizophrenia who hallucinate show impairments in reality monitoring (the ability to distinguish internally generated information from information obtained from external sources) compared to non-hallucinating patients and healthy individuals. While this may be explained at least in part by an increased externalizing bias, it remains unclear whether this impairment is specific to reality monitoring, or whether it also reflects a general deficit in the monitoring of self-generated information (internal source monitoring). Much interest has focused recently on continuum models of psychosis which argue that hallucination-proneness is distributed in clinical and non-clinical groups, but few studies have directly investigated reality monitoring and internal source monitoring abilities in healthy individuals with a proneness to hallucinations.

Use of a proximity extension assay proteomics chip to discover new biomarkers associated with albuminuria.

Background The underlying mechanisms for the development of albuminuria and the increased cardiovascular risk in patients with elevated albuminuria levels are incompletely understood. We therefore investigated the associations between 80 cardiovascular proteins and the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR). Methods We used a discovery/replication approach in two independent community-based cohorts of elderly patients: the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men ( n = 662; mean age 78 years) and the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors ( n = 757; mean age 75 years; 51% women).

Patients' experiences of support for learning to live with diabetes to promote health and well-being: A lifeworld phenomenological study.

Learning to live with diabetes in such a way that the new conditions will be a normal and natural part of life imposes requirements on the person living with diabetes. Previous studies have shown that there is no clear picture of what and how the learning that would allow persons to incorporate the illness into their everyday life will be supported. The aim of this study is to describe the phenomenon of support for learning to live with diabetes to promote health and well-being, from the patient's perspective.

Are Hallucinations Due to an Imbalance Between Excitatory and Inhibitory Influences on the Brain?

This review from the International Consortium on Hallucinations Research intends to question the pertinence of the excitatory-to-inhibitory (E/I) imbalance hypothesis as a model for hallucinations. A large number of studies suggest that subtle impairments of the E/I balance are involved in neurological and psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia. Emerging evidence also points to a role of the E/I balance in maintaining stable perceptual representations, suggesting it may be a plausible model for hallucinations.

Impact of goal priority and goal conflict on the intention-health-behavior relationship: Tests on physical activity and other health behaviors.

Objectives: Goal intentions are the key proximal determinant of behavior in a number of key models applied to predicting health behavior. However, relatively little previous research has examined how characteristics of goals moderate the intention-health-behavior relations. The present research examined the effects of goal priority and goal conflict as moderators of the intention-health-behavior relationship.

The importance of mealtime structure for reducing child food fussiness.

The aim of this study was to explore how the structure of mealtimes within the family setting is related to children's fussy eating behaviours. Seventy-five mothers of children aged between 2 and 4 years were observed during a typical mealtime at home. The mealtimes were coded to rate mealtime structure and environment as well as the child's eating behaviours (food refusal, difficulty to feed, eating speed, positive and negative vocalisations).

Medical students are afraid to include abortion in their future practices: in-depth interviews in Maharastra, India.

Background: Unsafe abortions are estimated to cause eight per-cent of maternal mortality in India. Lack of providers, especially in rural areas, is one reason unsafe abortions take place despite decades of legal abortion. Education and training in reproductive health services has been shown to influence attitudes and increase chances that medical students will provide abortion care services in their future practice.

Nurses' and patients' communication in smoking cessation at nurse-led COPD clinics in primary health care.

Background: Smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have high nicotine dependence making it difficult to quit smoking. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a method that is used in stimulating motivation and behavioral changes.

Objective: To describe smoking cessation communication between patients and registered nurses trained in MI in COPD nurse-led clinics in Swedish primary health care.

Improved Muscle Mitochondrial Capacity Following Gastric Bypass Surgery in Obese Subjects.

Background: Weight loss resulting from low-calorie diets is often less than expected. We hypothesized that energy restriction would influence proton leakage and improve mitochondrial efficiency, leading to reduced energy expenditure, partly explaining the difficulties in weight loss maintenance.

Methods: Eleven women with a median BMI of 38.