97 research outputs found
Participatie op de Veluwe. Bewoners en beheerders tegenover elkaar
De verhouding tussen bewoners en natuurbeheerders op de Veluwe is zeker niet altijd probleemloos. Bewoners vinden vaak dat beheerders arrogant zijn, weinig betrokken en dat ze besluiten nemen âvan achter hun bureauâ. Beheerders menen zich suf te communiceren en vinden de opkomst van lokale bewoners bij excursies teleurstellend. De Koninklijke Nederlandsche Heidemaatschappij gaf mij de opdracht om uit te zoeken waar dat nu vandaan kwam. Weinig inzicht in elkaars leefwereld lijkt het belangrijkste probleem. De oplossing is dan ook vooral te vinden in inleving, en in het zoeken naar mensen die een bemiddelende rol kunnen spelen
Artificial coherent states of light by multi-photon interference in a single-photon stream
Coherent optical states consist of a quantum superposition of different
photon number (Fock) states, but because they do not form an orthogonal basis,
no photon number states can be obtained from it by linear optics. Here we
demonstrate the reverse, by manipulating a random continuous single-photon
stream using quantum interference in an optical Sagnac loop, we create
engineered quantum states of light with tunable photon statistics, including
approximate weak coherent states. We demonstrate this experimentally using a
true single-photon stream produced by a semiconductor quantum dot in an optical
microcavity, and show that we can obtain light with in
agreement with our theory, which can only be explained by quantum interference
of at least 3 photons. The produced artificial light states are, however, much
more complex than coherent states, containing quantum entanglement of photons,
making them a resource for multi-photon entanglement.Comment: 6 pages + supplemental materia
Pharmacological conditioning for juvenile idiopathic arthritis:a potential solution to reduce methotrexate intolerance
Background: Methotrexate (MTX) therapy has proven to be a successful and safe treatment for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). Despite the high efficacy rates of MTX, treatment outcomes are often complicated by burdensome gastro-intestinal side effects. Intolerance rates for MTX in children are high (approximately 50%) and thus far no conclusive effective treatment strategies to control for side effects have been found. To address this need, this article proposes an innovative research approach based on pharmacological conditioning, to reduce MTX intolerance. Presentation of the hypothesis: A collaboration between medical psychologists, pediatric rheumatologists, pharmacologists and patient groups was set up to develop an innovative research design that may be implemented to study potential improved control of side effects in JIA, by making use of the psychobiological principles of pharmacological conditioning. In pharmacological conditioning designs, learned positive associations from drug therapies (conditioning effects) are integrated in regular treatment regimens to maximize treatment outcomes. Medication regimens with immunosuppressant drugs that made use of pharmacological conditioning principles have been shown to lead to optimized therapeutic effects with reduced drug dosing, which might ultimately cause a reduction in side effects. Testing the hypothesis: This research design is tailored to serve the needs of the JIA patient group. We developed a research design in collaboration with an interdisciplinary research group consisting of patient representatives, pediatric rheumatologists, pharmacologists, and medical psychologists. Implications of the hypothesis: Based on previous experimental and clinical findings of pharmacological conditioning with immune responses, we propose that the JIA patient group is particularly suited to benefit from a pharmacological conditioning design. Moreover, findings from this study may potentially also be promising for other patient groups that endure long-lasting drug therapies
Nailfold capillary scleroderma pattern may be associated with disease damage in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus:important lessons from longitudinal follow-up
OBJECTIVES: To observe if capillary patterns in childhood-onset SLE (cSLE) change over time and find associations between a capillary scleroderma pattern with disease activity, damage or scleroderma-like features. METHODS: Clinical and (yearly) capillaroscopy data from a longitudinal cohort of patients with cSLE (minimum of four Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) criteria, onset <18 years) were analysed. Disease activity was measured by Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Activity Index (SLEDAI) and disease damage by SLICC Damage Index. A scleroderma pattern was defined according to the âfast track algorithmâ from the European League Against Rheumatism Study Group on Microcirculation in Rheumatic Diseases. An abnormal capillary pattern, not matching a scleroderma pattern, was defined as âmicroangiopathyâ. RESULTS: Our cohort consisted of 53 patients with cSLE with a median disease onset of 14 years (IQR 12.5â15.5 years), median SLEDAI score at diagnosis was 11 (IQR 8â16), median SLEDAI at follow-up was 2 (IQR 1â6). A scleroderma pattern (ever) was seen in 18.9%, while only 13.2% of patients had a normal capillary pattern. Thirty-three patients had follow-up capillaroscopy of which 21.2% showed changes in type of capillary pattern over time. Type of capillary pattern was not associated with disease activity. Raynaudâs phenomenon (ever) was equally distributed among patients with different capillaroscopy patterns (p=0.26). Anti-ribonucleoprotein antibodies (ever) were significantly more detected (Χ(2), p=0.016) in the scleroderma pattern subgroup (n=7 of 10, 70%). Already 5 years after disease onset, more than 50% of patients with a scleroderma pattern had SLE-related disease damage (HR 4.5, 95%âCI 1.1 to 18.8, p=0.034), but they did not develop clinical features of systemic sclerosis at follow-up. Number of detected fingers with a scleroderma pattern was similar between cSLE, juvenile systemic sclerosis and juvenile undifferentiated connective tissue disease. CONCLUSION: This longitudinal study shows that the majority of capillary patterns in cSLE are abnormal and they can change over time. Irrespective of disease activity, a capillary scleroderma pattern in cSLE may be associated with higher risk of SLE-related disease damage
Dutch juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients, carers and clinicians create a research agenda together following the James Lind Alliance method: A study protocol
Background: Research on Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) should support patients, caregivers/parents (carers) and clinicians to make important decisions in the consulting room and eventually to improve the lives of patients with JIA. Thus far these end-users of JIA-research have rarely been involved in the prioritisation of future research. Main body: Dutch organisations of patients, carers and clinicians will collaboratively develop a research agenda for JIA, following the James Lind Alliance (JLA) methodology. In a 'Priority Setting Partnership' (PSP), they will gradually establish a top 10 list of the most important unanswered research questions for JIA. In this process the input from clinicians, patients and their carers will be equally valued. Additionally, focus groups will be organised to involve young people with JIA. The involvement of all contributors will be monitored and evaluated. In this manner, the project will contribute to the growing body of literature on how to involve young people in agenda setting in a meaningful way. Conclusion: A JIA research agenda established through the JLA method and thus co-created by patients, carers and clinicians will inform researchers and research funders about the most important research questions for JIA. This will lead to research that really matters
The effects of TNF-alpha inhibitor therapy on the incidence of infection in JIA children
Juvenile Idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic rheumatic disease in childhood. The diagnosis is based on the underlying symptoms of arthritis with an exclusion of other diseases Biologic agents are increasingly used on the side of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARD) in JIA treatment.The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the observed infections in JIA children during tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitor therapy. A systematic search of three databases (Medline via PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library) was carried out up to May 2018. Published trials that evaluated the infectious adverse events in patients receiving TNF-alpha inhibitor vs. a control group were included in the analysis. Full-text data extraction was carried out independently by the investigators from ten relevant publications. 1434 patients received TNF-alpha inhibitor therapy; the control group consisted of 696 subjects. The analysis presented the risk of infection in the active treatment group (OR = 1.13; 95% CI: 0.76-1.69; p = 0.543). The majority of infections were upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). Furthermore, the subgroup analysis demonstrated a higher infection rate in the observed localization.Anti-TNF therapy slightly but not significantly increases the incidence of infection in JIA children compared to other therapies (GRADE: moderate evidence). The most common infections reported were mild URTIs. Further studies with larger patients number with a strong evidence level are crucially needed to finalize the answer whether anti-TNF therapy elevates and if yes on what extent the incidence of infection in JIA children.Prospero: CRD42017067873
Lessen in begrijpend lezen in het speciaal basisonderwijs
Item does not contain fulltext12 p
- âŠ