Bouwstenen voor Kenniscentrum Betuwse Bloem

De Betuwse Bloem heeft de ambitie de concurrentiepositie van de tuinbouw in het Gelderse Rivierengebied verder te versterken en te laten uitgroeien tot een erkend en succesvol duurzaam tuinbouwcluster. De Greenport Betuwse Bloem is een samenwerking tussen de bedrijven in het tuinbouwcluster, provincie Gelderland, lokale overheden, vertegenwoordigers van het bedrijfsleven en kennisinstellingen uit het Gelderse Rivierengebied. Binnen de Betuwse Bloem zijn vijf tuinbouwpacten en het Ondernemersinitiatief actief. Om de ambitie waar te maken wordt ingezet op het versterken van de samenwerking van alle partijen die in het gebied werkzaam zijn. Eind 2012 heeft de regio Betuwse Bloem het onderzoeksthema T&U Methodieken Kennisoverdracht, met financiering door het ministerie van EZ, gevraagd bouwstenen aan te leveren voor de verdere ontwikkeling van het door de regio gewenste kennisloket Betuwse Bloem. Voor de ontwikkeling van het regionaal kennisloket is al eerder een businessplan geschreven vanuit het TransForumproject (Kranendonk, R. et al., 2010 intern stuk). Inmiddels is de context waarin dit plan was beschreven, zoals bovenstaand aangegeven, sterk gewijzigd. Publiek Private Samenwerking is geordend naar topsectoren en Productschappen houden per 2014 op te bestaan. Ook is de aansturing van kennis en innovatie binnen de regio Betuwse Bloem gewijzigd. De vraag die voorligt is op welke wijze de stimulering van het innovatiebeleid in de regio BB versterkt ingevuld kan worden. Welke rol kan een (virtueel) kennisloket daarin spelen? De concrete vraag en dus het doel van deze notitie is: ontwikkel bouwstenen voor een vernieuwde aanpak en ontwikkeling van het gewenste kennisloket, passend binnen de nieuwe context van het topsectorenbeleid en de governance binnen de provincie. Deze notitie bevat bouwstenen voor het kennisloket, gebaseerd op gesprekken met stakeholders. Deze notitie is daarmee geen uitgewerkt businessplan voor een kennisloket, maar geeft adviezen en bouwstenen. Het werk voor deze notitie is gefinancierd vanuit het ministerie van Economische Zake

Inadequate folic acid intake around the time of conception, particularly among less highly educated women

Objective. To describe the knowledge and use of folic acid by women in the North of the Netherlands who wish to become pregnant, in relation to their social-economic status. Design. Descriptive. Method. Pregnant women who were attending one of 3 gynaecological and 7 midwifery practices for their first or second pregnancy check-up in October or November 2000 in the provinces Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe were asked to complete a questionnaire about their knowledge, sources of information and use of folic acid. Four hundred and sixty-one of the 473 women were prepared to take part. The highest level of education achieved was used as an indicator of social-economic status. Results. Three hundred and fifty-seven (77%) respondents had heard about folic acid before becoming pregnant, 289 (63%) knew about its protective effect in terms of neural-tube defects, and 151 (33%) knew the full length of the advised period of folic acid intake. Two hundred and sixty-five (61%) respondents had taken folic acid for some part of the advised period and 164 (36%) had taken it for the entire duration of the advised period. More women with a higher education than women with lower levels of education knew about folic acid and had used it. Conclusion. Three quarters of the respondents had heard about folic acid before their pregnancy, and less than half took it during the advised period around the time of conception. Women with a higher education were more likely to follow the advice.</p

Inadequate folic acid intake around the time of conception, particularly among less highly educated women

Objective. To describe the knowledge and use of folic acid by women in the North of the Netherlands who wish to become pregnant, in relation to their social-economic status. Design. Descriptive. Method. Pregnant women who were attending one of 3 gynaecological and 7 midwifery practices for their first or second pregnancy check-up in October or November 2000 in the provinces Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe were asked to complete a questionnaire about their knowledge, sources of information and use of folic acid. Four hundred and sixty-one of the 473 women were prepared to take part. The highest level of education achieved was used as an indicator of social-economic status. Results. Three hundred and fifty-seven (77%) respondents had heard about folic acid before becoming pregnant, 289 (63%) knew about its protective effect in terms of neural-tube defects, and 151 (33%) knew the full length of the advised period of folic acid intake. Two hundred and sixty-five (61%) respondents had taken folic acid for some part of the advised period and 164 (36%) had taken it for the entire duration of the advised period. More women with a higher education than women with lower levels of education knew about folic acid and had used it. Conclusion. Three quarters of the respondents had heard about folic acid before their pregnancy, and less than half took it during the advised period around the time of conception. Women with a higher education were more likely to follow the advice.</p

Inadequate folic acid intake around the time of conception, particularly among less highly educated women

Objective. To describe the knowledge and use of folic acid by women in the North of the Netherlands who wish to become pregnant, in relation to their social-economic status. Design. Descriptive. Method. Pregnant women who were attending one of 3 gynaecological and 7 midwifery practices for their first or second pregnancy check-up in October or November 2000 in the provinces Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe were asked to complete a questionnaire about their knowledge, sources of information and use of folic acid. Four hundred and sixty-one of the 473 women were prepared to take part. The highest level of education achieved was used as an indicator of social-economic status. Results. Three hundred and fifty-seven (77%) respondents had heard about folic acid before becoming pregnant, 289 (63%) knew about its protective effect in terms of neural-tube defects, and 151 (33%) knew the full length of the advised period of folic acid intake. Two hundred and sixty-five (61%) respondents had taken folic acid for some part of the advised period and 164 (36%) had taken it for the entire duration of the advised period. More women with a higher education than women with lower levels of education knew about folic acid and had used it. Conclusion. Three quarters of the respondents had heard about folic acid before their pregnancy, and less than half took it during the advised period around the time of conception. Women with a higher education were more likely to follow the advice.</p

Inadequate folic acid intake around the time of conception, particularly among less highly educated women

Objective. To describe the knowledge and use of folic acid by women in the North of the Netherlands who wish to become pregnant, in relation to their social-economic status. Design. Descriptive. Method. Pregnant women who were attending one of 3 gynaecological and 7 midwifery practices for their first or second pregnancy check-up in October or November 2000 in the provinces Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe were asked to complete a questionnaire about their knowledge, sources of information and use of folic acid. Four hundred and sixty-one of the 473 women were prepared to take part. The highest level of education achieved was used as an indicator of social-economic status. Results. Three hundred and fifty-seven (77%) respondents had heard about folic acid before becoming pregnant, 289 (63%) knew about its protective effect in terms of neural-tube defects, and 151 (33%) knew the full length of the advised period of folic acid intake. Two hundred and sixty-five (61%) respondents had taken folic acid for some part of the advised period and 164 (36%) had taken it for the entire duration of the advised period. More women with a higher education than women with lower levels of education knew about folic acid and had used it. Conclusion. Three quarters of the respondents had heard about folic acid before their pregnancy, and less than half took it during the advised period around the time of conception. Women with a higher education were more likely to follow the advice.</p

Inadequate folic acid intake around the time of conception, particularly among less highly educated women

Objective. To describe the knowledge and use of folic acid by women in the North of the Netherlands who wish to become pregnant, in relation to their social-economic status. Design. Descriptive. Method. Pregnant women who were attending one of 3 gynaecological and 7 midwifery practices for their first or second pregnancy check-up in October or November 2000 in the provinces Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe were asked to complete a questionnaire about their knowledge, sources of information and use of folic acid. Four hundred and sixty-one of the 473 women were prepared to take part. The highest level of education achieved was used as an indicator of social-economic status. Results. Three hundred and fifty-seven (77%) respondents had heard about folic acid before becoming pregnant, 289 (63%) knew about its protective effect in terms of neural-tube defects, and 151 (33%) knew the full length of the advised period of folic acid intake. Two hundred and sixty-five (61%) respondents had taken folic acid for some part of the advised period and 164 (36%) had taken it for the entire duration of the advised period. More women with a higher education than women with lower levels of education knew about folic acid and had used it. Conclusion. Three quarters of the respondents had heard about folic acid before their pregnancy, and less than half took it during the advised period around the time of conception. Women with a higher education were more likely to follow the advice.</p

Inadequate folic acid intake around the time of conception, particularly among less highly educated women

Objective. To describe the knowledge and use of folic acid by women in the North of the Netherlands who wish to become pregnant, in relation to their social-economic status. Design. Descriptive. Method. Pregnant women who were attending one of 3 gynaecological and 7 midwifery practices for their first or second pregnancy check-up in October or November 2000 in the provinces Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe were asked to complete a questionnaire about their knowledge, sources of information and use of folic acid. Four hundred and sixty-one of the 473 women were prepared to take part. The highest level of education achieved was used as an indicator of social-economic status. Results. Three hundred and fifty-seven (77%) respondents had heard about folic acid before becoming pregnant, 289 (63%) knew about its protective effect in terms of neural-tube defects, and 151 (33%) knew the full length of the advised period of folic acid intake. Two hundred and sixty-five (61%) respondents had taken folic acid for some part of the advised period and 164 (36%) had taken it for the entire duration of the advised period. More women with a higher education than women with lower levels of education knew about folic acid and had used it. Conclusion. Three quarters of the respondents had heard about folic acid before their pregnancy, and less than half took it during the advised period around the time of conception. Women with a higher education were more likely to follow the advice.</p

The RAVE survey: the Galactic escape speed and the mass of the Milky Way

We construct new estimates on the Galactic escape speed at various Galactocentric radii using the latest data release of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE DR4). Compared to previous studies we have a database larger by a factor of 10 as well as reliable distance estimates for almost all stars. Our analysis is based on the statistical analysis of a rigorously selected sample of 90 high-velocity halo stars from RAVE and a previously published data set. We calibrate and extensively test our method using a suite of cosmological simulations of the formation of Milky Way-sized galaxies. Our best estimate of the local Galactic escape speed, which we define as the minimum speed required to reach three virial radii $R_{340}$, is $533^{+54}_{-41}$ km/s (90% confidence) with an additional 5% systematic uncertainty, where $R_{340}$ is the Galactocentric radius encompassing a mean over-density of 340 times the critical density for closure in the Universe. From the escape speed we further derive estimates of the mass of the Galaxy using a simple mass model with two options for the mass profile of the dark matter halo: an unaltered and an adiabatically contracted Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) sphere. If we fix the local circular velocity the latter profile yields a significantly higher mass than the un-contracted halo, but if we instead use the statistics on halo concentration parameters in large cosmological simulations as a constraint we find very similar masses for both models. Our best estimate for $M_{340}$, the mass interior to $R_{340}$ (dark matter and baryons), is $1.3^{+0.4}_{-0.3} \times 10^{12}$ M$_\odot$ (corresponding to $M_{200} = 1.6^{+0.5}_{-0.4} \times 10^{12}$ M$_\odot$). This estimate is in good agreement with recently published independent mass estimates based on the kinematics of more distant halo stars and the satellite galaxy Leo I.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures; accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Systemic and ocular fluid compounds as potential biomarkers in age-related macular degeneration

Biomarkers can help unravel mechanisms of disease and identify new targets for therapy. They can also be useful in clinical practice for monitoring disease progression, evaluation of treatment efficacy, and risk assessment in multifactorial diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is a highly prevalent progressive retinal disorder for which multiple genetic and environmental risk factors have been described, but the exact etiology is not yet fully understood. Many compounds have been evaluated for their association with AMD. We performed an extensive literature review of all compounds measured in serum, plasma, vitreous, aqueous humor, and urine of AMD patients. Over 3600 articles were screened, resulting in more than 100 different compounds analyzed in AMD studies, involved in neovascularization, immunity, lipid metabolism, extracellular matrix, oxidative stress, diet, hormones, and comorbidities (such as kidney disease). For each compound, we provide a short description of its function and discuss the results of the studies in relation to its usefulness as AMD biomarker. In addition, biomarkers identified by hypothesis-free techniques, including metabolomics, proteomics, and epigenomics, are covered. In summary, compounds belonging to the oxidative stress pathway, the complement system, and lipid metabolism are the most promising biomarker candidates for AMD. We hope that this comprehensive survey of the literature on systemic and ocular fluid compounds as potential biomarkers in AMD will provide a stepping stone for future research and possible implementation in clinical practice

Analysis of rare variants in the C3 gene in patients with age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive retinal disorder affecting over 33 million people worldwide. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for AMD identified common variants at 19 loci accounting for 15-65% of the heritability and it has been hypothesized that the missing heritability may be attributed to rare variants with large effect sizes. Common variants in the complement component 3 (C3) gene have been associated with AMD and recently a rare C3 variant (Lys155Gln) was identified which exerts a large effect on AMD susceptibility independent of the common variants. To explore whether additional rare variants in the C3 gene are associated with AMD, we sequenced all coding exons in 84 unrelated AMD cases. Subsequently, we genotyped all identified variants in 1474 AMD cases and 2258 controls. Additionally, because of the known genetic overlap between AMD and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), we genotyped two recurrent aHUS-associated C3 mutations in the entire cohort. Overall, we identified three rare variants (Lys65Gln (P = 0.04), Arg735Trp (OR = 17.4, 95% CI = 2.2-136; P = 0.0003), and Ser1619Arg (OR = 5.2, 95% CI = 1.0-25; P = 0.05) at the C3 locus that are associated with AMD in our EUGENDA cohort. However, the Arg735Trp and Ser1619Arg variants were not found to be associated with AMD in the Rotterdam Study. The Lys65Gln variant was only identified in patients from Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and thus may represent a region-specific AMD risk variant