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Lactoferrin influences atherosclerotic progression by modulating macrophagic AMPK/mTOR signaling-dependent autophagy
Influence of palliative care policy on place of death for people with different cancer types: a nationwide’ register study
This study investigated the impact of a national palliative care policy introduced in 2013. The hypothesis was that end-of-life and palliative care policy shape healthcare services, which in turn influence service utilisation and ultimately place of death for people dying from cancer. The aim was to identify longitudinal trends in place of death for people with cancer in Sweden. A population-level longitudinal trend in place of death study was performed, based on register data of all adults aged 18 or above with a cancer diagnosis as underlying cause of death in Sweden between 2013-2019. Data were retrieved from registers at the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare and Statistics Sweden. In addition to a more descriptive overview of place of death (hospital, home, nursing home, and other places), linear regression models were used to analyse trends in place of death and associated socio-demographic factors, and healthcare services and utilisation. Dying in hospital was most common (48.7%), followed by nursing home (25.6%) and own home (23.5%), and differed according to sex, age, marital status, type of cancer, healthcare regions, and utilising specialised palliative care services at death or not. From 2013 to 2019 the total number of home deaths increased from 21.8% to 24.7%, whereas hospital deaths decreased from 49.2% to 47.1%. For people residing in their own home, there was a downward trend for dying in hospital, while no trend was detected for people residing in nursing homes. The identified trend had cross-regional variations and inconsistencies. In conclusion, the hypothesis was not confirmed. The results point to inequity in palliative cancer care, and need for national governance strategies and improved integration of palliative care in national healthcare structures.
Effects of aging on experimentally induced pain perception during a distraction task
A simple validation and screening method for CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing in mouse embryos to facilitate genetically modified mice production
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) is a genome engineering method for generating site-specific editing in target genes in a variety of species. It is a common tool for generating mouse models of different diseases. However, detecting target modifications in mouse embryos can be time-consuming and expensive. Accordingly, developing a screening method to confirm gene modification may be useful. We propose herein an evaluation method (cleavage assay – CA) for CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing in preimplantation mouse embryos that allows us to detect mutants efficiently and later on initiate in vivo production without the extensive number of samples needing to be sent for Sanger sequencing and animal usage. Our method is based on the inability of the RNP complex to recognize the target sequence after CRISPR-mediated genome editing due to modification of the target locus. It allows us to establish gene edited mice in a user-friendly fashion with a limited number of mice usage by confirming each step of CRISPR-mediated gene editing of mouse embryos and, therefore, can be considered as a supportive tool to existing procedures for verification of successful CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene alterations in mouse embryos and further mutant production.
Optimizing power generation in a hybrid solar wind energy system using a DFIG-based control approach
Enhanced isolation in aperture fed dielectric resonator MIMO antennas for 5G Sub 6 GHz applications
Abstract A quad-port dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) is proposed for sub-6 GHz 5G MIMO applications, featuring high isolation, dual-band operation, and enhanced efficiency. The antenna is designed using electromagnetic coupling with a triangular patch to excite the square dielectric resonators (DRs) at targeted resonance modes (TEx 111 and TEx 121), achieving broadband and polarization diversity. The proposed structure exhibits self-isolation above 20 dB without requiring additional decoupling structures. The use of Alumina (εr = 9.9, tanδ = 0.0001) ensures low loss, high efficiency (88.9% and 93.8%), and strong radiation performance, with peak gains of 9.12 dBi and 8.58 dBi at 3.72 GHz and 4.75 GHz, respectively. The full ground plane and optimized spatial placement further contribute to reduced mutual coupling and improved diversity performance, achieving an envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) of 0.042 and channel capacity loss (CCL) below 0.2 bits/s/Hz. The proposed antenna’s measured results align closely with simulations, confirming its suitability for high-performance 5G MIMO communication systems.
Efficacy of hemostasis and gingival retraction of Merocel strip compared with conventional retraction cord utilizing digital gypsum model: a randomized controlled trial
The preclinical study of biocompatibility of tyrosine polycarbonate bioresorbable scaffold in small caliber porcine peripheral arteries
Evolutionary lability of a key innovation spurs rapid diversification
Structural characteristics of corrugated sandwich rectangular pressure vessels
Evolutionary flexibility to gain or lose tooth complexity sparks fish diversification
Research on model predictive control strategy of three-level dual-active bridge DC-DC converter
The effect of sleeping posture on occupant injury in frontal coach crashes
Abstract The safety of coaches in frontal crashes is attracting attention in various countries. Coach crash studies are done based on standard postures. Occupants travelling long distances in coaches may fall asleep, with postures that can be different from the standard posture. This paper investigates the effects of different sleeping postures on occupant injuries in frontal coach collisions by using sled test model and dummies. Four different sleeping postures are considered including head tilted sideway, slide down on seat in neutral position, turned torso-head diagonal with backrest and turned torso-head perpendicular with backrest posture. The results showed that the head tilted sideway posture increases occupant head injuries with the Head Injury Criteria (HIC) values of 399.3 to 494.6 and the peak head acceleration over 3 milliseconds (H3ms) reaches a maximum of 88.53 g which is above the accepted threshold of 80 g. Slide down on seat in neutral position posture reduces occupant head injuries where the HIC decreased by 28.47%, and for H3ms the decrease is 12.15%. Turned torso posture reduces neck injuries, and all those four sleeping postures are beneficial to reduce thorax injuries. The different turned torso postures simultaneously include the lowest risk and the highest risk postures.
Gender differences in the network of suicidal ideation, interpersonal needs and depressive symptoms among Chinese college students
Spatial distribution and influencing factors of rural cultural ecosystem services: a case study of Fujian, China
Light pollution threatens fleet of world-class telescopes in Atacama Desert
Glycocalyx dysregulation impairs blood–brain barrier in ageing and disease
Abstract The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is highly specialized to protect the brain from harmful circulating factors in the blood and maintain brain homeostasis1,2. The brain endothelial glycocalyx layer, a carbohydrate-rich meshwork composed primarily of proteoglycans, glycoproteins and glycolipids that coats the BBB lumen, is a key structural component of the BBB3,4. This layer forms the first interface between the blood and brain vasculature, yet little is known about its composition and roles in supporting BBB function in homeostatic and diseased states. Here we find that the brain endothelial glycocalyx is highly dysregulated during ageing and neurodegenerative disease. We identify significant perturbation in an underexplored class of densely O-glycosylated proteins known as mucin-domain glycoproteins. We demonstrate that ageing- and disease-associated aberrations in brain endothelial mucin-domain glycoproteins lead to dysregulated BBB function and, in severe cases, brain haemorrhaging in mice. Finally, we demonstrate that we can improve BBB function and reduce neuroinflammation and cognitive deficits in aged mice by restoring core 1 mucin-type O-glycans to the brain endothelium using adeno-associated viruses. Cumulatively, our findings provide a detailed compositional and structural mapping of the ageing brain endothelial glycocalyx layer and reveal important consequences of ageing- and disease-associated glycocalyx dysregulation on BBB integrity and brain health.