Introduction: Clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa support that HIV self-testing (HIVST) can increase testing rates in difficult-to-reach populations. However, trials mostly evaluate oral fluid HIVST only. We describe preferences for oral fluid vs. blood-based HIVST to elucidate prior trial results and inform testing programs. Methods: Participants were recruited from a HIVST randomized controlle

Background: Gallstones intervention during pregnancy might be a stressful event for both mother and fetus and stress might affect outcome. The aim of this study was to identify factors that might improve the care of pregnant patients in need of intervention for gallstone disease. Methods: By crossmatching the Swedish Registry of Gallstone Surgery and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography

Background & Aims: There is substantial inter-individual variability in the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Part of which is explained by insulin resistance (IR) (‘MetComp’) and part by common modifiers of genetic risk (‘GenComp’). We examined how IR on the one hand and genetic risk on the other contribute to the pathogenesis of NAFLD. Methods: We studied 846 individuals: 49

It has been shown that Bernal stacked bilayer graphene (BLG) in a uniform magnetic field demonstrates integer quantum Hall effect with a zero Landau-level anomaly (Novoselov et al., 2006). In this article we consider such system in a two dimensional periodic magnetic modulation with square lattice symmetry. It is shown algebraically that the resulting Hofstadter spectrum can be expressed in terms

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes, but it is unclear how risks vary by histological activity. Methods: We performed a nationwide study of Swedish women diagnosed with IBD 1990–2016 and a pre-pregnancy (

Air pollution poses a threat to human health, with pregnant women and their developing fetuses being particularly vulnerable. A high dual burden of ambient and indoor air pollution exposure has been identified in Ethiopia, but studies investigating their effects on adverse birth outcomes are currently lacking. This study explores the association between ambient air pollution (NOX and NO2) and indo

Objectives: To explore communication and engagement in everyday situations between persons with young-onset dementia (YOD) living in a nursing home (NH) and the caregivers. Methods: The study draws on ethnographic methods aligned with participatory design. Three residents with YOD living in a NH and eight staff members were recruited. A narrative approach was used for data collection and analysis.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used as a complementary intervention in psychiatric healthcare. The reasons for using or not using CAM in psychiatric care in Sweden, and how such decisions are taken, are largely unknown. The aim was to investigate arguments for and against the use of CAM in Swedish psychiatric care, and how decisions are made. Interviews with 10 persons in decision

The aesthetic outcome is crucial in a breast reconstruction. Our aim was to evaluate the intra- and interrater reliability of an aesthetic outcome assessment scale with digital photos of breast reconstructions in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) format. Thirty-three women with delayed breast reconstructions, consecutively participating in a five-year follow-up between November 2019

Tau accumulation starts during the preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease and is closely associated with cognitive decline. For preventive purposes, it is important to identify factors associated with tau accumulation and spread. Studying genetically identical twin-pairs may give insight into genetic and environmental contributions to tau pathology, as similarities in identical twin-pairs largel

Patients with immune-mediated kidney diseases are at increased risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The international rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has provided varying degrees of protection and enabled the understanding of vaccine efficacy and safety. The immune response to COVID-19 vaccines is lower in most patients with immune-mediated kidney diseases; either related to immunosupp

Shared Reading er en lesepraksis hvor folk, uansett alder og utdanning, kan komme sammen rundt skjønnlitteratur og skape mening. For første gang kommer en samlet framstilling av forskning på metoden i de skandinaviske landene. Denne antologien gir et mangefasettert bilde av Shared Reading som litteraturformidling, estetisk opplevelse og fellesskapsarena innenfor tre kontekster: mental helse, medbo

Backround: During the last decades, outbreaks of foodborne illnesses have increasingly been linked to fresh and/or minimally processed fruit and vegetables. Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli was the causal agent for major outbreaks in Europe with leafy green vegetables and sprouts. To improve food safety, microbial antagonism has received attention during recent years and could be one of the solu

This paper introduces the Lang-Track-App, a smartphone application and backend system to aid second language acquisition researchers in implementing the experience sampling method (ESM). Surveying research participants with the Lang-Track-App multiple times per day can yield exceptionally rich data that can be analyzed in multiple ways. This article explains the different Lang-Track-App components

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the heat and mass transport characteristics in microchannel reactors with non-uniform catalyst distributions. Design/methodology/approach: A two-dimensional model is developed to study the heat and mass transport characteristics in microchannel reactors. The heat and mass transport processes in the microchannel reactors with non-uniform catalyst

Due to the growing importance of demand response program (DRP) in demand side management in power systems as well as increasing employment of combined heat and power (CHP) units, the issue of energy management of large consumers equipped with CHP units in the presence of a DRP based on the day-ahead electricity price has been studied in this paper. To solve the considered non-convex and non-linear

The Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) is considered an importantimaging biomarker contributing to the assessment of tissue microstructure and pathophy- siology. It is calculated from Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DWI) by means of a diffusion model, usually without considering any motion during image acquisition. We propose a method to improve the computation of the ADC by copin

Cell culture techniques are strongly connected with modern scientific laboratories and production facilities. Thus, choosing the most suitable medium for the cells involved is vital, not only directly to optimise cell viability but also indirectly to maximise the reliability of the experiments performed with the cells. Fetal bovine or calf serum (FBS or FCS, respectively) is the most commonly used

Tumor cells pose a challenge to the adaptive immune system, and its key cell types, T and B cells, have frequently been associated with an improved prognosis. The success of immune checkpoint blockade has confirmed the relevance of T cells. However, the role of B cells is increasingly recognized, and highlighted in this review. Recent data suggest that tumors contain a diverse set of B cells refle