Search

BACKGROUND: Motor development is one of the first signals to identify whether an infant is developing well. For very preterm (VPT) infants without severe perinatal complications, little is known about their motor developmental curves. AIMS: Explore gross motor developmental curves from 3 until 18 months corrected age (CA) of VPT infants, and related factors. Explore whether separate profiles can be distinguished and compare these to profiles of Dutch term-born infants. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with parents repeatedly recording their infant, using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) home-video method, from 3 to 18 months CA. SUBJECTS: Forty-two Dutch infants born ≤32.0 weeks gestational age and/or with a birthweight (BW) of

LP2 is a 4, 7 D, L lanthionine-stabilized analog of angiotensin-(1−7), with an N-terminal D-lysine, resistant to breakdown by peptidases. It is a specific agonist of the angiotensin II type 2 receptor. Consistent with its high specificity and stability, LP2 has shown excellent safety and pharmacokinetics in a first-in-human clinical phase Ia trial. Here, based on strong rationales, we studied the capacity of LP2 to inhibit the growth of patient-derived xenografts of colorectal cancer in mice. Prior to efficacy studies, immunohistochemistry on an untreated tissue array demonstrated that the AT2R expression is reduced in human colorectal cancer and in stroma when compared to tumor adjacent tissue. Subsequent studies demonstrated that LP2 at a subcutaneously injected dose as low as 0.2 µg/kg/day inhibited patient-derived xenografts of colorectal carcinoma in mice. Kinome analyses and validation of elected kinase inhibition indicated that LP2-mediated AT2R stimulation inhibited PI3K/AKT/mTOR which resulted in apoptosis via CDKs. LP2 acted synergistically with 5-FU and the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib. Taken together, the extremely low dose of LP2 at which antitumor activity is exerted, the synergism with selected drugs and, together with its excellent specificity, safety and stability, warrant further evaluation of LP2′s inhibitory potential of colorectal cancer.

We investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on optimism and meaning in life in a sample of the Netherlands Twin Register. Participants completed questions before (N=9964) and during the pandemic (N= 17464). A subsample completed both (N=6461). We applied twin models to investigate changes in the genetic architecture due to the pandemic.Around 15-20% of the sample was negatively affected by the pandemic, but the majority was stable (64-68%) or increased (15%) in optimism and meaning in life. Especially women, higher educated people, and people with poorer health experienced negative effects. Twin modelling indicated stable genetic variance and increasing person-specific environmental variance. The lower than unity genetic correlations across time (.75 and .63) suggest gene-environment interactions.Some people decrease in well-being, while others get more optimistic and consider their lives as more meaningful during the pandemic. These differences are partly explained by individual differences in genetic sensitivity.

Het RIVM heeft het rijtijdenmodel voor de spoedeisende ambulancezorg geactualiseerd. Dit gebeurt elke vier jaar. Dit model schat de rijtijd die een ambulance gemiddeld nodig heeft om met spoed naar een locatie te rijden. Hiervoor gebruiken we feitelijk gemeten snelheden van ambulances van juli 2019 tot en met juni 2020. Voor de meeste wegtypen (denk aan snel- en hoofdwegen en voetgangersgebieden) zijn de gemiddelde gemeten snelheden lager dan in de vorige meetperiode (2015-2016). Gemiddeld gezien is de rijtijd van ambulances in heel Nederland met 0,8 minuten langer geworden, zowel binnen als buiten de bebouwde kom. Daarom geeft het nieuwe rijtijdenmodel voor veel trajecten langere rijtijden dan het oude rijtijdenmodel uit 2016. Onderzoek naar de oorzaak van de lagere snelheden viel buiten de vraagstelling. Wel is van twee bijzondere gebeurtenissen vanaf maart 2020 onderzocht wat de invloed is op de gemiddelde snelheden van ambulances: de gedeeltelijke lockdown in verband met de corona-pandemie en de begrenzing van de maximum snelheid op snelwegen overdag tot 100 km per uur. Er werd voor beide gebeurtenissen geen effect gevonden. Bij elke actualisatie wordt gekeken of de met het model geschatte rijtijden nog beter kunnen aansluiten bij de werkelijke rijtijden. Dit keer is gekeken of een andere regio-indeling voor ambulances en minder tijdsblokken (alleen binnen of buiten de spitsuren) beter zijn. Deze varianten blijken de werkelijke rijtijden net zo goed te voorspellen als het model uit 2016. Het RIVM heeft daarom besloten het model niet te veranderen en alleen de gemiddelde snelheden te actualiseren. Het RIVM gebruikt het rijtijdenmodel voor de spoedeisende ambulancezorg voor verschillende bereikbaarheidsanalyses in de spoedeisende zorg.

SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly spread worldwide since December 2019. Obviously, pregnant and lactating women will also be infected with SARS-CoV-2. Pregnant women, however, are a risk population for developing severe respiratory infections. Currently, the knowledge on potential risks and consequences of COVID-19 during pregnancy and lactation is limited. Available data show that pregnant women suffer from similar symptoms compared to non-pregnant patients. There is no evidence as yet that COVID-19 has a more serious course during pregnancy. Although pregnant women might suffer from a wide variety of symptoms, most of them are asymptomatic. Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection might lead to adverse neonatal outcomes, such as prematurity or respiratory symptoms. There is currently no conclusive evidence of absence of intrauterine transmission of the virus; the virus has not been detected in breastmilk in most studies, although passage into breastmilk cannot be completely excluded. ispartof: Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde vol:164 ispartof: location:Netherlands status: published

Item does not contain fulltext Seminar on 'Bordering through affect and epistemics - emerging notions in migration research', 24 september 2020

The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of debridement, antibiotics, irrigation and retention (DAIR) in patients who developed a periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) after primary hip or knee arthroplasty in two community hospitals in the Netherlands. We retrospectively collected data in two hospitals in the Netherlands on all episodes of PJI after primary hip (THA) and knee arthroplasty (TKA) from 1998-2012. In 109 of 8234 THA (1.32%) and 65 of 5752 TKA (1.13%) a PJI developed. DAIR was used as treatment in 84 patients after THA (77.1%) and 56 patients after TKA (86.2%). 34 Patients only received antibiotics or were immediately revised. After 1 year follow-up, prosthesis retention was achieved in 81 THA patients (74.3%) and 48 TKA patients (73.8%). Acute infections showed a better survival compared to late infections (84.0% vs 46.6% respectively; p. In conclusion, debridement, antibiotics and irrigation in acute PJI may lead to retention of the prosthesis in a majority of cases. Large patient cohort studies can provide data on PJI outcome, complementing National Registries which have limited detail.

There is an active debate regarding whether the ego depletion effect is real. A recent pre-registered experiment with the Stroop task as the depleting task and the antisaccade task as the outcome task found a medium level effect size. In the current research, we pre-registered a multi-lab collaborating project to replicate that experiment. Data from twelve labs across the globe (N = 1775) revealed a small but significant ego depletion effect, g = 0.12, CI95 = [0.02, 0.21]. The data also provided some evidence in support of a moderating effect of individual differences in lay theory about willpower, such that participants with an unlimited-resource theory evinced a weaker depletion effect. Finally, a series of auxiliary analyses provided important implications for future studies investigating the robustness of ego depletion, such that strictly controlled experimental settings and outcome tasks with medium difficulty might be better for observing a stronger depletion effect.

Centra voor Jeugd en Gezin (CJG) hebben vanuit de Wet maatschappelijke ontwikkeling sinds 2007 een belangrijke taak: preventie en het bieden van laagdrempelige opvoedingshulp aan ouders bij lichte opgroei- en opvoedvragen, en waar nodig doorverwijzen naar zwaardere vormen van hulp. De omwenteling naar deze manier van werken gaat bij de huidige professionals van het CJG (pedagogisch consulenten, maatschappelijk werkers en sociaal verpleegkundigen) gepaard met onzekerheid over hoe zij . Het lectoraat Integraal Jeugdbeleid van de Hanzehogeschool volgt en begeleidt deze omwenteling in twee Groningse wijken. De uitgangssituatie is in kaart gebracht en er wordt momenteel geëxperimenteerd met preventief en omgevingsgericht werken aan de hand van twee casussen. De kansen en de hobbels tijdens dit traject die de professionals ervaren worden tijdens de presentatie besproken.

Background/Aims: To prospectively evaluate the long-term impact of valproate (VPA) versus carbamazepine (CBZ) on anthropometric, hormonal, and metabolic parameters in young male patients treated for epilepsy. Methods: Of 61 boys with newly diagnosed epilepsy followed up, 24 were excluded from analysis (17 were lost to follow-up and 7 changed therapy within Results: Twenty-four boys were treated with VPA and 13 with CBZ. The weight-standard deviation score (SDS) significantly increased during the first 6 months of treatment (p < 0.001), irrespective of the drug type, but decreased between the first and the last visit (p = 0.01). In patients with generalized epilepsy, there was a slight decrease in height- and weight-SDS between the first and the last visit (p = 0.04 and p = 0.01, respectively). The height-SDS at the last visit was comparable to the parental height-SDS. The mean age at puberty onset was 11.2 and 11.4 years in the study and the control group, respectively (p = 0.08). There were no significant differences in the other parameters by treatment or epilepsy type. Conclusions: Long-term therapy with VPA or CBZ has no significant endocrinological or metabolic adverse effect on male children and adolescents with epilepsy.

In theory, competitive electricity markets can provide incentives for efficient investment in generating capacity. We show that if consumers and investors are risk averse, investment is efficient only if investors in generating capacity can sign long-term contracts with consumers. Otherwise the uncovered price risk increases financing costs, reduces equilibrium investment levels, distorts technology choice towards less capital-intensive generation and reduces consumer utility. We observe insufficient levels of long-term contracts in existing markets, possibly because retail companies are not credible counter-parties if their final customer can switch easily. With consumer franchise, retailers can sign long-term contracts, but this solution comes at the expense of the idea of retail competition. Alternative capacity mechanisms to stimulate investment are discussed.

People undertake various brand-related activities on social media that differ in levels of engagement. Companies, however, want to know how to motivate consumers to become involved in the relatively more engaging activities, as such activities are more likely to lead to increased sales. In this article, we focus on activities that are highly engaging (such as writing product reviews) or moderately engaging (such as rating products). Based on self-determination theory, the present research identifies different motivations for engaging in different brand-related activities on social media. We provide evidence indicating that the motivations of self-expression and socializing play primary roles in leading people to participate in highly engaging activities (i.e. creating one's own content online) and in moderately engaging activities (i.e. collaborating with others to contribute to content). These findings have implications for both theory and practice insofar as they specify how to stimulate consumers to perform relatively more engaging brand-related activities on social media. An overarching framework explains which motivations affect brand-related activities.The framework is tested by a survey and an experimental study.Specific motivations drive activities that entail different levels of engagement.Expressing oneself motivates people to generate online content.Socializing with others motivates people to contribute content.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is becoming an increasingly important approach to treatment of different malignant and non-malignant disorders. There is thus growing demand for diagnostic assays permitting the surveillance of donor/recipient chimerism posttransplant. Current techniques are heterogeneous, rendering uniform evaluation and comparison of diagnostic results between centers difficult. Leading laboratories from 10 European countries have therefore performed a collaborative study supported by a European grant, the EuroChimerism Concerted Action, with the aim to develop a standardized diagnostic methodology for the detection and monitoring of chimerism in patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Following extensive analysis of a large set of microsatellite/short tandem repeat (STR) loci, the EuroChimerism (EUC) panel comprising 13 STR markers was established with the aim to optimally meet the specific requirements of quantitative chimerism analysis. Based on highly stringent selection criteria, the EUC panel provides multiple informative markers in any transplant setting. The standardized STR-PCR tests permit detection of donor-or recipient-derived cells at a sensitivity ranging between 0.8 and 1.6%. Moreover, the EUC assay facilitates accurate and reproducible quantification of donor and recipient hematopoietic cells. Wide use of the European-harmonized protocol for chimerism analysis presented will provide a basis for optimal diagnostic support and timely treatment decisions. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited.