Background - The effect of a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine on the risk of death in the oldest and frailest individuals is unknown.<p> <p>Methods - Two matched cohorts were formed using Swedish nationwide registers. In the first, residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) given a fourth dose of an mRNA vaccine from 1 January 2022 onwards were matched 1:1 on birth year and county of residence ...

Aims To explore sex-specific time trends in atrial fibrillation (AF) incidence and to estimate the impact of changes in risk factor levels using individual participant-level data from the population-based Tromsø Study 1994–2016.<p> <p>Methods and results A total of 14 818 women and 13 225 men aged 25 years or older without AF were enrolled in the Tromsø Study between 1994 and 2008 and followed ...

The growing production of plastic waste and improper dumping after use has become a worldwide challenge. This waste is a substantial source of petroleum and can be effectively converted into pyrolytic oil and other useful products. A statistical prediction of the rate constants is essential for optimizing pyrolysis process parameters, such as activation energy (Ea), frequency factor (Ao), temperature ...

Bacterial symbionts of marine invertebrates are rich sources of novel, pharmaceutically relevant natural products that could become leads in combatting multidrug-resistant pathogens and treating disease. In this study, the bioactive potential of the marine invertebrate symbiont Thalassomonas actiniarum was investigated. Bioactivity screening of the strain revealed Gram-positive specific antibacterial ...

<p><b> Background</b> Thrombosis is reported to occur more often among patients with COVID-19 than otherwise expected in the setting of viral pneumonia and sepsis. Systemic inflammatory biomarkers may be associated with venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk. The ISTH subcommittee on Predictive and Diagnostic Variables in Thrombotic Disease aimed to report the evidence on prognostic biomarkers for VTE ...

<p><b> Background</b> Hand grip strength (HGS), a common proxy of whole-body muscular strength, is associated with a wide range of adverse health outcomes and mortality. However, there are limited data on the association between HGS and risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). <p><b> Objectives</b> We aimed to investigate the association between HGS and risk of incident VTE in a population-based ...

Background & aims: Tea has been shown to be associated with reduced risk of several diseases including cardiovascular diseases, stroke, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. However, the results on the relationship between tea consumption and bladder cancer are conflicting. This research aimed to assess the association between tea consumption and risk of bladder cancer using a pooled analysis of prospective ...

Understanding the freezing and thawing processes in porous media such as soils is important, especially in regions experiencing seasonal frost or permafrost. These processes have a wide range of implications as diverse as how to maintain the structural integrity of roads, railways, pipelines, and buildings, to when to plant seeds during the growth season. Thawing of frozen ground is the opposite ...

Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene epochs 3.6 to 0.8 million years ago1 had climates resembling those forecasted under future warming2. Palaeoclimatic records show strong polar amplification with mean annual temperatures of 11–19 °C above contemporary values3,4. The biological communities inhabiting the Arctic during this time remain poorly known because fossils are rare5. Here we report an ancient ...

Abstract Analysis of cetacean blow offers a unique potential for non-invasive assessments of their health. In recent years, the use of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) has revolutionized the way these samples are collected. However, the high cost and expertise associated with purpose-built waterproof UAVs, paired with the challenges of operating during difficult meteorological conditions, can be ...