University of Stockholm

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 21, 2024 -- Higher intake of total, animal, and plant protein is associated with lower mortality in older adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study published online Aug. 7 in JAMA Network Open . Adrián Carballo-Casla, Ph.D., from the Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, and colleagues examined associations of total, animal, and plant protein intake with all-cause mortality in older adults with mild or moderate CKD. Analysis included 8,543 community-dwelling adults ≥60 years. The researchers found that higher total protein intake was associated with lower mortality among participants with CKD (adjusted hazard ratio for 1.00 versus 0.80 g/kg/day: 0.88; for 1.20 versus 0.80 g/kg/day: 0.79; for 1.40 versus 0.80 g/kg/day, 0.73). For plant and animal protein, associations with mortality were similar (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.80 and 0.88 per 0.20-g/kg/day increment, respectively). Associations were also similar for total protein intake regardless of age. Risk was even lower among participants without CKD versus those with CKD (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.85 and 0.92 per 0.20-g/kg/day increment, respectively). "These findings suggest that the benefits of proteins may outweigh the downsides in older adults with mild or moderate CKD, in whom disease progression may play a more limited role in survival," the authors write. Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Abstract/Full Text Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

The potential of quantum technology is huge but is today largely limited to the extremely cold environments of laboratories. Now, researchers have succeeded in demonstrating for the very first time how laser light can induce quantum behavior at room temperature -- and make non-magnetic materials magnetic. The breakthrough is expected to pave the way for faster and more energy-efficient computers, information transfer and data storage. The potential of quantum technology is huge but is today largely limited to the extremely cold environments of laboratories. Now, researchers at Stockholm University, at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics and at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice have succeeded in demonstrating for the very first time how laser light can induce quantum behavior at room temperature -- and make non-magnetic materials magnetic. The breakthrough is expected to pave the way for faster and more energy-efficient computers, information transfer and data storage. Within a few decades, the advancement of quantum technology is expected to revolutionize several of society's most important areas and pave the way for completely new technological possibilities in communication and energy. Of particular interest for researchers in the field are the peculiar and bizarre properties of quantum particles -- which deviate completely from the laws of classical physics and can make materials magnetic or superconducting. By increasing the understanding of exactly how and why this type of quantum states arise, the goal is to be able to control and manipulate materials to obtain quantum mechanical properties. So far, researchers have only been able to induce quantum behaviors, such as magnetism and superconductivity, at extremely cold temperatures. Therefore, the potential of quantum research is still limited to laboratory environments. Now, a research team from Stockholm University and the Nordic Institute of Theoretical Physics (NORDITA)* in Sweden, the University of Connecticut and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in USA, the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan, the Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, the 'Sapienza' University of Rome and the Ca' Foscari University of Venice in Italy, is the first in the world to demonstrate in an experiment how laser light can induce magnetism in a non-magnetic material at room temperature. In the study, published in Nature, the researchers subjected the quantum material strontium titanate to short but intense laser beams of a peculiar wavelength and polarization, to induced magnetism. "The innovation in this method lies in the concept of letting light move atoms and electrons in this material in circular motion, so to generate currents that make it as magnetic as a refrigerator magnet. We have been able to do so by developing a new light source in the far-infrared with a polarization which has a "corkscrew" shape. This is the first time we have been able to induce and clearly see how the material becomes magnetic at room temperature in an experiment. Furthermore, our approach allows to make magnetic materials out of many insulators, when magnets are typically made of metals. In the long run, this opens for completely new applications in society," says the research leader Stefano Bonetti at Stockholm University and at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice The method is based on the theory of "dynamic multiferroicity," which predicts that when titanium atoms are "stirred up" with circularly polarized light in an oxide based on titanium and strontium, a magnetic field will be formed. But it is only now that the theory can be confirmed in practice. The breakthrough is expected to have broad applications in several information technologies. "This opens up for ultra-fast magnetic switches that can be used for faster information transfer and considerably better data storage, and for computers that are significantly faster and more energy-efficient," says Alexander Balatsky, professor of physics at NORDITA. In fact, the results of the team have already been reproduced in several other labs, and a publication in the same issue of Nature demonstrates that this approach can be used to write, and hence store, magnetic information. A new chapter in designing new materials using light has been opened.

The introduction of a policy protecting parental leave benefits in Sweden in 1980 had unintended consequences on child health. The policy appears to have led to an increase in premature birth rates. The introduction of apolicy protecting parental leave benefits in Sweden in 1980 had unintended consequences on child health. The policy led to an increase in premature birth rates. This is shown by a study from researchers at Stockholm University, published in JAMA Pediatrics. The Swedish so-called speed premium policy was introduced in 1980 in order to protect couples' level of income-based parental leave benefits when they had children in quick succession. The new study from Stockholm University evaluates the health consequences of the policy. The researchers conclude that by unintentionally encouraging couples to have children within a shorter 24-month interval, the policy led to a 26% increase in the proportion of children born prematurely over the six years that it was in force. "The results are convincing as the relaxation of the policy to a 30-month window in 1986 was meanwhile associated with an 11% decrease in premature birth rates in the following years. These changes remain in place today," says Enrico Debiasi, researcher at the Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University. Parental leave benefits in Sweden for most parents consist of approximately 80% of their salary prior to childbirth. However, due to a previous non-salaried leave period or a shift to part-time work, parents who already have a child might receive lower benefits for their next child. This is a situation that is very common for Swedish women after a period of parental leave, according to Debiasi. In order to reduce the risk of low benefits for parents who had children in quick succession, the speed premium policywas introduced. The policy stipulated that among those with children born up to 24 months apart, parental leave benefits would be calculated according to the income received before the first one of those children was born. "The policy was well-intentioned and offered important socioeconomic benefits for mothers, as has been shown previously. However, it did not anticipate that parents would shorten birth spacing, which is associated with adverse health consequences for the mother and the child," says Sol Juárez, Associate Professor at the Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University. The policy also encouraged women to postpone having children in order to protect their income, while still achieving their desired number of children, adds Helena Honkaniemi, researcher at the Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University. "This resulted in a higher proportion of women having multiple children at advanced ages, which is also a risk factor for several adverse reproductive health outcomes," she says. Overall, the new study offers an excellent example of the consequences of not considering health when designing family policies, according to Juárez. The study was published in the scientific journal JAMA Pediatrics.