Inhoud en functionaliteit Koepelvisie Bos : een verkenning naar een hernieuwde benadering voor het verbinden van doelstellingen aan terreinbeheer van bossen

De koepvisie van Staatsbosbeheer geeft algemene handvatten aan het beheer door doelstellingen te koppelen aan maatregelen die in het terreinbeheer mogelijk, wenselijk of noodzakelijk zij

Bottom-up versus top-down: Effective connectivity reflects individual differences in grapheme-color synesthesia

In grapheme-color synesthesia, letters elicit a color. Neural theories propose that synesthesia is due to changes in connectivity between sensory areas. However, no studies on functional connectivity in synesthesia have been published to date. Here, we applied psycho-physiological interactions (PPI) and dynamic causal modeling (DCM) in fMRI to assess connectivity patterns in synesthesia. We tested whether synesthesia is mediated by bottom-up, feedforward connections from grapheme areas directly to perceptual color area V4, or by top-down feedback connections from the parietal cortex to V4. We took individual differences between synesthetes into account: 'projector'synesthetes experience their synesthetic color in a spatial location, while 'associators'only have a strong association of the color with the grapheme. We included 19 grapheme-color synesthetes (14 projectors, 5 associators) and located group effects of synesthesia in left superior parietal lobule (SPL) and right color area V4. With PPI, taking SPL as a seed region, we found an increase in functional coupling with visual areas (also V4), for the synesthesia condition. With PPI, however, we can not determine the direction of this functional coupling. Based on the GLM results, we specified 2 DCMs to test whether a bottom-up or a top-down model would provide a better explanation for synesthetic experiences. Bayesian Model Selection showed that overall, neither model was much more likely than the other (exceedance probability of 0.589). However, when the models were divided according to projector or associator group, BMS showed that the bottom-up, feedforward model had an exceedance probability of 0.98 for the projectors: it was strongly preferred for this group. The top-down, feedback model was preferred for the associator group (exceedance probability = 0.96). To our knowledge, we are the first to report empirical evidence of changes in functional and effective connectivity in synesthesia. Whether bottom-up or top-down mechanisms underlie synesthetic experiences has been a long-time debate: that different connectivity patterns can explain differential experiences of synesthesia may greatly improve our insight in the neural mechanisms of the phenomenon

Adiabatic normal zone development in MgB2 superconductors

A-priori knowledge of the normal zone development in MgB/sub 2/ conductors is essential for quench protection of applications. Therefore the normal zone propagation in a monofilament MgB/sub 2//Fe conductor under near-adiabatic conditions at 4.2 K has been measured and simulated. The results show normal zone propagation velocities up to several meters per second. In addition, by including the voltage-current relation into the computational model, the influence of the n-value on the normal zone propagation is determined. The simulations show that lower n-values suppress the normal zone propagation velocity due to lower heat generation in the MgB/sub 2/ filaments

Construction and preliminary evaluation of a simulation model of the population dynamics of the potato cyst-nematode Globodera pallida

Op grond van literatuurgegevens en niet-gepubliceerde experimentele gegevens van diverse onderzoekers is een model geconstrueerd waarmee het populatieverloop kan worden berekend en de schade aan het gewas kan worden geschat. Hoewel het model redelijke uitkomsten geeft en daarmee bruikbaar lijkt voor voorspelling en gevoeligheids-analyse zijn er nog een aantal punten die verbetering behoeve

Discussing sexuality with patients with Parkinson's disease:A survey among Dutch neurologists

Sexual functioning is often impaired in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and may affect quality of life of patients and their spouse. However, little is known about the practice patterns of neurologists with regard to discussing sexuality in this field. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate to what extent neurologists discuss sexuality with PD patients. A 22-item questionnaire was sent to 139 neurologists specializing in PD. The survey contained questions about their attitudes, knowledge, and practice patterns with respect to sexual dysfunction (SD) in patients with PD. The response rate of the survey was 66.9%. Most participants (56.8%) stated that they address sexuality in less than half of their PD patients. High age of patients (42.0%), insufficient consultation time (37.5%), and a lack of patients’ initiative to raise the topic themselves (36.4%) were frequently reported barriers towards discussing sexuality. The majority of participants considered that discussing sexuality is a responsibility that lay with neurologists (85.2%), nurses (73.9%), and patients (72.7%). One quarter of the neurologists reported to have insufficient or no knowledge on SD. The majority of participants regarded screening for SD important or slightly important (85.2%). A large proportion of Dutch neurologists specializing in PD do not routinely discuss sexuality with their PD patients. Sexual healthcare in PD patients may benefit from time-efficient tools and agreements on who is responsible for discussing SD. Furthermore, recommendations in PD guidelines on screening and managing SD should be adapted to fit everyday practice

Vooraf

The Legitimacy and Effectiveness of Law & Governance in a World of Multilevel Jurisdiction

Population-based screen-detected type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with less need for insulin therapy after 10 years

INTRODUCTION: With increased duration of type 2 diabetes, most people have a growing need of glucose-lowering medication and eventually might require insulin. Presumptive evidence is reported that early detection (eg, by population-based screening) and treatment of hyperglycemia will postpone the indication for insulin treatment. A treatment legacy effect of population-based screening for type 2 diabetes of about 3 years is estimated. Therefore, we aim to compare insulin prescription and glycemic control in people with screen-detected type 2 diabetes after 10 years with data from people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes seven (treatment legacy effect) and 10 years before during care-as-usual. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Three cohorts were compared: one screen-detected cohort with 10 years diabetes duration (Anglo-Danish-Dutch study of Intensive Treatment in People with Screen-Detected Diabetes in Primary care (ADDITION-NL): n=391) and two care-as-usual cohorts, one with 7-year diabetes duration (Groningen Initiative to Analyze Type 2 Diabetes Treatment (GIANTT) and Zwolle Outpatient Diabetes project Integrating Available Care (ZODIAC): n=4473) and one with 10-year diabetes duration (GIANTT and ZODIAC: n=2660). Insulin prescription (primary outcome) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of people with a known diabetes duration of 7 years or 10 years at the index year 2014 were compared using regression analyses. RESULTS: Insulin was prescribed in 10.5% (10-year screen detection), 14.7% (7-year care-as-usual) and 19.0% (10-year care-as-usual). People in the 7-year and 10-year care-as-usual groups had a 1.5 (95% CI 1.0 to 2.1) and 1.8 (95% CI 1.3 to 2.7) higher adjusted odds for getting insulin prescribed than those after screen detection. Lower HbA1c values were found 10 years after screen detection (mean 50.1 mmol/mol (6.7%) vs 51.8 mmol/mol (6.9%) and 52.8 mmol/mol (7.0%)), compared with 7 years and 10 years after care-as-usual (MDadjusted: 1.6 mmol/mol (95% CI 0.6 to 2.6); 0.1% (95% CI 0.1 to 0.2) and 1.8 mmol/mol (95% CI 0.7 to 2.9); and 0.2% (95% CI 0.1 to 0.3)). CONCLUSION: Population-based screen-detected type 2 diabetes is associated with less need for insulin after 10 years compared with people diagnosed during care-as-usual. Glycemic control was better after screen detection but on average good in all groups