332 research outputs found
SEQATOMS: a web tool for identifying missing regions in PDB in sequence context.
doi:10.1093/nar/gkn23
The 2009 framework for undergraduate medical education in the Netherlands
The 2009 Framework defines the joint Dutch national learning outcomes to be attained by medical students after completing their three-year master programme in medicine. The Framework thus helps to guarantee to society at large and to patients in particular that medical graduates who are starting out as practitioners have attained a certain professional level. This level is the aggregate of the physicians’ target profile, physicians’ (sub-) competencies to be achieved and the list of issues relating to illness and health. In addition, the Framework also defines the profile of the bachelor and the learning outcomes of the bachelor programme in medicine
The 2009 framework for undergraduate medical education in the Netherlands
The 2009 Framework defines the joint Dutch national learning outcomes to be attained by medical students after completing their three-year master programme in medicine. The Framework thus helps to guarantee to society at large and to patients in particular that medical graduates who are starting out as practitioners have attained a certain professional level. This level is the aggregate of the physicians’ target profile, physicians’ (sub-) competencies to be achieved and the list of issues relating to illness and health. In addition, the Framework also defines the profile of the bachelor and the learning outcomes of the bachelor programme in medicine
Multi-netclust: an efficient tool for finding connected clusters in multi-parametric networks
Summary: Multi-netclust is a simple tool that allows users to extract connected clusters of data represented by different networks given in the form of matrices. The tool uses user-defined threshold values to combine the matrices, and uses a straightforward, memory-efficient graph algorithm to find clusters that are connected in all or in either of the networks. The tool is written in C/C++ and is available either as a form-based or as a command-line-based program running on Linux platforms. The algorithm is fast, processing a network of > 106 nodes and 108 edges takes only a few minutes on an ordinary computer
GeneSeeker: extraction and integration of human disease-related information from web-based genetic databases
The identification of genes underlying human genetic disorders requires the combination of data related to cytogenetic localization, phenotypes and expression patterns, to generate a list of candidate genes. In the field of human genetics, it is normal to perform this combination analysis by hand. We report on GeneSeeker (), a web server that gathers and combines data from a series of databases. All database searches are performed via the web interfaces provided with the original databases, guaranteeing that the most recent data are queried, and obviating data warehousing. GeneSeeker makes the same selection of candidate genes as the human geneticists would have performed, and thus reducing the time-consuming process to a few minutes. GeneSeeker is particularly well suited for syndromes in which the disease gene displays altered expression patterns in the affected tissue(s)
Sedimentation of binary mixtures of like- and oppositely charged colloids: the primitive model or effective pair potentials?
We study sedimentation equilibrium of low-salt suspensions of binary mixtures
of charged colloids, both by Monte Carlo simulations of an effective
colloids-only system and by Poisson-Boltzmann theory of a colloid-ion mixture.
We show that the theoretically predicted lifting and layering effect, which
involves the entropy of the screening ions and a spontaneous macroscopic
electric field [J. Zwanikken and R. van Roij, Europhys. Lett. {\bf 71}, 480
(2005)], can also be understood on the basis of an effective colloid-only
system with pairwise screened-Coulomb interactions. We consider, by theory and
by simulation, both repelling like-charged colloids and attracting oppositely
charged colloids, and we find a re-entrant lifting and layering phenomenon when
the charge ratio of the colloids varies from large positive through zero to
large negative values
Crystalline Assemblies and Densest Packings of a Family of Truncated Tetrahedra and the Role of Directional Entropic Forces
Polyhedra and their arrangements have intrigued humankind since the ancient
Greeks and are today important motifs in condensed matter, with application to
many classes of liquids and solids. Yet, little is known about the
thermodynamically stable phases of polyhedrally-shaped building blocks, such as
faceted nanoparticles and colloids. Although hard particles are known to
organize due to entropy alone, and some unusual phases are reported in the
literature, the role of entropic forces in connection with polyhedral shape is
not well understood. Here, we study thermodynamic self-assembly of a family of
truncated tetrahedra and report several atomic crystal isostructures, including
diamond, {\beta}-tin, and high- pressure lithium, as the polyhedron shape
varies from tetrahedral to octahedral. We compare our findings with the densest
packings of the truncated tetrahedron family obtained by numerical compression
and report a new space filling polyhedron, which has been overlooked in
previous searches. Interestingly, the self-assembled structures differ from the
densest packings. We show that the self-assembled crystal structures can be
understood as a tendency for polyhedra to maximize face-to-face alignment,
which can be generalized as directional entropic forces.Comment: Article + supplementary information. 23 pages, 10 figures, 2 table
Methods for interpreting lists of affected genes obstained in a DNA microarray experiment
Background - The aim of this paper was to describe and compare the methods used and the results obtained by the participants in a joint EADGENE (European Animal Disease Genomic Network of Excellence) and SABRE (Cutting Edge Genomics for Sustainable Animal Breeding) workshop focusing on post analysis of microarray data. The participating groups were provided with identical lists of microarray probes, including test statistics for three different contrasts, and the normalised log-ratios for each array, to be used as the starting point for interpreting the affected probes. The data originated from a microarray experiment conducted to study the host reactions in broilers occurring shortly after a secondary challenge with either a homologous or heterologous species of Eimeria. Results - Several conceptually different analytical approaches, using both commercial and public available software, were applied by the participating groups. The following tools were used: Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, MAPPFinder, LIMMA, GOstats, GOEAST, GOTM, Globaltest, TopGO, ArrayUnlock, Pathway Studio, GIST and AnnotationDbi. The main focus of the approaches was to utilise the relation between probes/genes and their gene ontology and pathways to interpret the affected probes/genes. The lack of a well-annotated chicken genome did though limit the possibilities to fully explore the tools. The main results from these analyses showed that the biological interpretation is highly dependent on the statistical method used but that some common biological conclusions could be reached. Conclusion - It is highly recommended to test different analytical methods on the same data set and compare the results to obtain a reliable biological interpretation of the affected genes in a DNA microarray experimen
Estimated GFR, Albuminuria, and Cognitive Performance:The Maastricht Study
BACKGROUND: Reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria have been associated with worse cognitive performance. However, few studies have examined whether these associations are confined to older individuals or may be extended to the middle-aged population. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional analyses of a prospective population-based cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: 2,987 individuals aged 40 to 75 years from the general population (The Maastricht Study). PREDICTOR: eGFR and urinary albumin excretion (UAE). OUTCOMES: Memory function, information processing speed, and executive function. MEASUREMENTS: Analyses were adjusted for demographic variables (age, sex, and educational level), lifestyle factors (smoking behavior and alcohol consumption), depression, and cardiovascular disease risk factors (glucose metabolism status, waist circumference, total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, triglyceride level, use of lipid-modifying medication, systolic blood pressure, use of antihypertensive medication, and prevalent cardiovascular disease). RESULTS: UAE was <15mg/24 h in 2,439 (81.7%) participants, 15 to <30 mg/24 h in 309 (10.3%), and ≥30mg/24 h in 239 (8.0%). In the entire study population, UAE≥30mg/24 h was associated with lower information processing speed as compared to UAE<15mg/24 h (β [SD difference] = -0.148; 95% CI, -0.263 to -0.033) after full adjustment, whereas continuous albuminuria was not. However, significant interaction terms (P for interaction < 0.05) suggested that albuminuria was most strongly and extensively associated with cognitive performance in older individuals. Mean (±SD) eGFR, estimated by the CKD-EPI (Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration) creatinine-cystatin C equation (eGFRcr-cys), was 88.4±14.6 mL/min/1.73m(2). eGFRcr-cys was not associated with any of the domains of cognitive performance after full adjustment. However, significant interaction terms (P for interaction < 0.05) suggested that eGFRcr-cys was associated with cognitive performance in older individuals. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional design, which limited causal inferences. CONCLUSIONS: In the entire study population, albuminuria was independently associated with lower information processing speed, whereas eGFRcr-cys was not associated with cognitive performance. However, both were more strongly and extensively associated with cognitive performance in older individuals
Extended sedimentation profiles in charged colloids: the gravitational length, entropy, and electrostatics
We have measured equilibrium sedimentation profiles in a colloidal model
system with confocal microscopy. By tuning the interactions, we have determined
the gravitational length in the limit of hard-sphere-like interactions, and
using the same particles, tested a recent theory [R.van Roij, J. Phys. Cond.
Mat. 15, S3569, (2003)], which predicts a significantly extended sedimentation
profile in the case of charged colloids with long-ranged repulsions, due to a
spontaneously formed macroscopic electric field. For the hard-sphere-like
system we find that the gravitational length matches that expected. By tuning
the buoyancy of the colloidal particles we have shown that a mean field
hydrostatic equilibrium description even appears to hold in the case that the
colloid volume fraction changes significantly on the length scale of the
particle size. The extended sedimentation profiles of the colloids with
long-ranged repulsions are well-described by theory. Surprisingly, the theory
even seems to hold at concentrations where interactions between the colloids,
which are not modeled explicitly, play a considerable role
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