20 Jaar Interuniversitair Centrum voor Onderwijsonderzoek: een retrospectief

Het Interuniversitair Centrum voor Onderwijsonderzoek (ICO) bestaat meer dan 20 jaar. Dit artikel blikt terug op de ontwikkeling van de school en onderzoekt of de doelstellingen bereikt zijn: (1) het bevorderen van de kwaliteit van het wetenschappelijk onderwijs voor promovendi; (2) het bevorderen van de kwaliteit van het onderwijskundige onderzoek, en (3) het bevorderen van samenwerking. Vervolgens wordt de groei en bloei van ICO besproken aan de hand van een onderzoek, waarbij voor elk van de drie doelen is nagegaan hoe ICO zich over een periode van twee decennia ontwikkeld heeft. Ook wordt stilgestaan bij de korte periode (2004-2005) dat ICO niet erkend werd door de KNAW. De terugblik eindigt met de bespreking van toekomstgerichte ontwikkelingen binnen ICO. De belangrijkste conclusie is dat ICO zijn doelen bereikt heeft. In de toekomst zal internationale samenwerking belangrijker worden en het accent minder op kwaliteitsbewaking van onderzoek en meer op het verzorgen van hoogwaardig onderwijs voor promovendi komen te liggen

Early alterations in the MCH system link aberrant neuronal activity and sleep disturbances in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Early Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with hippocampal hyperactivity and decreased sleep quality. Here we show that homeostatic mechanisms transiently counteract the increased excitatory drive to CA1 neurons in AppNL-G-F mice, but that this mechanism fails in older mice. Spatial transcriptomics analysis identifies Pmch as part of the adaptive response in AppNL-G-F mice. Pmch encodes melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), which is produced in sleep-active lateral hypothalamic neurons that project to CA1 and modulate memory. We show that MCH downregulates synaptic transmission, modulates firing rate homeostasis in hippocampal neurons and reverses the increased excitatory drive to CA1 neurons in AppNL-G-F mice. AppNL-G-F mice spend less time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. AppNL-G-F mice and individuals with AD show progressive changes in morphology of CA1-projecting MCH axons. Our findings identify the MCH system as vulnerable in early AD and suggest that impaired MCH-system function contributes to aberrant excitatory drive and sleep defects, which can compromise hippocampus-dependent functions

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy plus surgery versus active surveillance for oesophageal cancer: A stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) plus surgery is a standard treatment for locally advanced oesophageal cancer. With this treatment, 29% of patients have a pathologically complete response in the resection specimen. This provides the rationale for investigating an active surveillance approach. The aim of this study is to assess the (cost-)effectiveness of active surveillance vs. standard oesophagectomy after nCRT for oesophageal cancer. Methods: This is a phase-III multi-centre, stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. A total of 300 patients with clinically complete response (cCR, i.e. no local or disseminated disease proven by histology) after nCRT will be randomised to show non-inferiority of active surveillance to standard oesophagectomy (non-inferiority margin 15%, intra-correlation coefficient 0.02, power 80%, 2-sided α 0.05, 12% drop-out). Patients will undergo a first clinical response evaluation (CRE-I) 4-6 weeks after nCRT, consisting of endoscopy with bite-on-bite biopsies of the primary tumour site and other suspected lesions. Clinically complete responders will undergo a second CRE (CRE-II), 6-8 weeks after CRE-I. CRE-II will include 18F-FDG-PET-CT, followed by endoscopy with bite-on-bite biopsies and ultra-endosonography plus fine needle aspiration of suspected lymph nodes and/or PET- positive lesions. Patients with cCR at CRE-II will be assigned to oesophagectomy (first phase) or active surveillance (second phase of the study). The duration of the first phase is determined randomly over the 12 centres, i.e., stepped-wedge cluster design. Patients in the active surveillance arm will undergo diagnostic evaluations similar to CRE-II at 6/9/12/16/20/24/30/36/48 and 60 months after nCRT. In this arm, oesophagectomy will be offered only to patients in whom locoregional regrowth is highly suspected or proven, without distant dissemination. The main study parameter is overall survival; secondary endpoints include percentage of patients who do not undergo surgery, quality of life, clinical irresectability (cT4b) rate, radical resection rate, postoperative complications, progression-free survival, distant dissemination rate, and cost-effectiveness. We hypothesise that active surveillance leads to non-inferior survival, improved quality of life and a reduction in costs, compared to standard oesophagectomy. Discussion: If active surveillance and surgery as needed after nCRT leads to non-inferior survival compared to standard oesophagectomy, this organ-sparing approach can be implemented as a standard of care

Identifying collaborative shipping opportunities

Collaborative shipping, where companies bundle their transport loads, is a growing trend in logistics. We present a tool that enables the quick identification of potential partners based on their geographical compatibility, even when the database of shipment lanes is very large. The tool allows the detection of bundling, backhauling, and roundtrip opportunities, as well as “collect-and/or-drop” opportunities where shipments are collected and/or dropped off en route. The tool is currently being used (among others) by Tri-Vizor, a facilitator and orchestrator of horizontal logistics partnerships, but is also applicable for any company that is looking for collaborative shipping partners.status: publishe

The optimal allocation of server time slots over different classes of patients

We present a model for assigning server time slots to different classes of patients. The objective is to minimize the total expected weighted waiting time of a patient (where different patient classes may be assigned different weights). A bulk service queueing model is used to obtain the expected waiting time of a patient of a particular class, given a feasible allocation of service time slots. Using the output of the bulk service queueing models as the input of an optimization procedure, the optimal allocation scheme may be identified. For problems with a large number of patient classes and/or a large number of feasible allocation schemes, a step-wise heuristic is developed. A common example of such a system is the allocation of operating room time slots over different medical disciplines in a hospital.status: publishe

The optimal allocation of server time slots over different classes of patients

status: publishe

The optimal allocation of server time slots over different classes of patients.

We present a model for assigning server time slots to different classes of patients. The objective is to minimize the total expected weighted waiting time of a patient (where different patient classes may be assigned different weights). A bulk service queueing model is used to obtain the expected waiting time of a patient of a particular class, given a feasible allocation of service time slots. Using the output of the bulk service queueing models as the input of an optimization procedure, the optimal allocation scheme may be identified. For problems with a large number of patient classes and/or a large number of feasible allocation schemes, a step-wise heuristic is developed. A common example of such a system is the allocation of operating room time slots over different medical disciplines in a hospital.Optimal capacity allocation; Bulk service queue; Patient waiting time;

Tri-Vizor uses an efficient algorithm to identify collaborative shipping opportunities

Collaborative shipping programs, whereby companies bundle their transport loads, are a growing trend in logistics. By bundling shipments with other partners, available space in truck hauls for one company can be used to transport shipments for other companies. The benefits are reduced logistics costs and a lower carbon footprint. Although the advantages of collaborative shipping are clear, finding suitable collaboration partners is a major impediment. In this article we present a tool that enables the quick identification of potential partners based on their geographical compatibility, even when the database of shipment lanes is very large. The tool allows the detection of bundling, back-hauling, and round-trip opportunities, as well as “collect-and-or-drop” opportunities in which shipments are collected and (or) dropped off en route. Tri-Vizor, a facilitator and orchestrator of horizontal logistics partnerships, is currently using this tool. Any company that is looking for collaborative shipping partners would also find it valuable. For Tri-Vizor, whose database has grown to over 130,000 shipment lanes, this tool has become an indispensable asset in detecting collaborative shipping opportunities

Tri-Vizor uses an efficient algorithm to identify collaborative shipping opportunities

Collaborative shipping, where companies bundle their transport loads, is a growing trend in logistics. By bundling shipments with other partners, available space in truck hauls for one company can be used to transport shipments for other companies. This comes at the benefit of reduced logistics costs, as well as a lower carbon footprint. Although its advantages are clear, a major impediment is to find suitable collaboration partners. In this article, we present a tool that enables the quick identification of potential partners based on their geographical compatibility, even when the database of shipment lanes is very large. The tool allows the detection of bundling, back-hauling, and round-trip opportunities, as well as “collect-and/or-drop” opportunities where shipments are collected and/or dropped off en route. The tool is currently being used (among others) by Tri-Vizor, a facilitator and orchestrator of horizontal logistics partnerships, but is also applicable for any company that is looking for collaborative shipping partners. For Tri-Vizor, the tool has become an indispensable asset to detect collaborative shipping opportunities as their database has grown to over 130,000 shipment lanes.status: publishe

Identification of collaborative shipping opportunities using BBaRT

A growing trend in improving logistics e ciency is to set up logistics partnerships with other companies. One can distinguish between vertical and horizontal supply chain collaborations. Vertical collaborations are established between suppliers and buyers. An example of vertical collaboration is sharing information on customer orders upstream the supply chain in order to reduce demand uncertainty for the suppliers. Horizontal collaborations are established between companies that operate at the same level in di erent supply chains, i.e., between suppliers or between buyers. Sharing transportation capacity when moving freight is an example of horizontal collaboration, an option that bene ts the environment and yields substantial network e ciencies. It is even possible that two co-opetitors set up a horizontal cooperation (Leitner et al., 2011). Horizontal partnerships in logistics have the potential to generate substantial gains by leveraging the overlaps in transport networks (Leitner et al., 2011). Whereas vertical collaborations have already been successfully established for many years, horizontal collaboration initiatives are more recent and are expected to become more widespread in the near futur