50 research outputs found
Remote monitoring and follow-up of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices in the Netherlands: An expert consensus report of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology
Remote monitoring of cardiac implanted electronic devices (CIED: pacemaker, cardiac resynchronisation therapy device and implantable cardioverter defibrillator) has been developed for technical control and follow-up using transtelephonic data transmission. In addition, automatic or patient-triggered alerts are sent to the cardiologist or allied professional who can respond if necessary with various interventions. The advantage of remote monitoring appears obvious in impending CIED failures and suspected symptoms but is less likely in routine follow-up of CIED. For this follow-up the indications, quality of care, cost-effectiveneness and patient satisfaction have to be determined before remote CIED monitoring can be applied in daily practice. Nevertheless remote CIED monitoring is expanding rapidly in the Netherlands without professional agreements about methodology, responsibilities of all the parties involved and that of the device patient, and reimbursement. The purpose of this consensus document on remote CIED monitoring and follow-up is to lay the base for a nationwide, uniform implementation in the Netherlands. This report describes the technical communication, current indications, benefits and limitations of remote CIED monitoring and follow-up, the role of the patient and device manufacturer, and costs and reimbursement. The view of cardiology experts and of other disciplines in conjunction with literature was incorporated in a preliminary series of recommendations. In addition, an overview of the questions related to remote CIED monitoring that need to be answered is given. This consensus document can be used for future guidelines for the Dutch profession
Cold gas accretion in galaxies
Evidence for the accretion of cold gas in galaxies has been rapidly
accumulating in the past years. HI observations of galaxies and their
environment have brought to light new facts and phenomena which are evidence of
ongoing or recent accretion:
1) A large number of galaxies are accompanied by gas-rich dwarfs or are
surrounded by HI cloud complexes, tails and filaments. It may be regarded as
direct evidence of cold gas accretion in the local universe. It is probably the
same kind of phenomenon of material infall as the stellar streams observed in
the halos of our galaxy and M31. 2) Considerable amounts of extra-planar HI
have been found in nearby spiral galaxies. While a large fraction of this gas
is produced by galactic fountains, it is likely that a part of it is of
extragalactic origin. 3) Spirals are known to have extended and warped outer
layers of HI. It is not clear how these have formed, and how and for how long
the warps can be sustained. Gas infall has been proposed as the origin. 4) The
majority of galactic disks are lopsided in their morphology as well as in their
kinematics. Also here recent accretion has been advocated as a possible cause.
In our view, accretion takes place both through the arrival and merging of
gas-rich satellites and through gas infall from the intergalactic medium (IGM).
The infall may have observable effects on the disk such as bursts of star
formation and lopsidedness. We infer a mean ``visible'' accretion rate of cold
gas in galaxies of at least 0.2 Msol/yr. In order to reach the accretion rates
needed to sustain the observed star formation (~1 Msol/yr), additional infall
of large amounts of gas from the IGM seems to be required.Comment: To appear in Astronomy & Astrophysics Reviews. 34 pages.
Full-resolution version available at
http://www.astron.nl/~oosterlo/accretionRevie
Does social distinction contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in diet: the case of ‘superfoods’ consumption
Genome Sequence of the Pea Aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum
Aphids are important agricultural pests and also biological models for studies of insect-plant interactions, symbiosis, virus vectoring, and the developmental causes of extreme phenotypic plasticity. Here we present the 464 Mb draft genome assembly of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. This first published whole genome sequence of a basal hemimetabolous insect provides an outgroup to the multiple published genomes of holometabolous insects. Pea aphids are host-plant specialists, they can reproduce both sexually and asexually, and they have coevolved with an obligate bacterial symbiont. Here we highlight findings from whole genome analysis that may be related to these unusual biological features. These findings include discovery of extensive gene duplication in more than 2000 gene families as well as loss of evolutionarily conserved genes. Gene family expansions relative to other published genomes include genes involved in chromatin modification, miRNA synthesis, and sugar transport. Gene losses include genes central to the IMD immune pathway, selenoprotein utilization, purine salvage, and the entire urea cycle. The pea aphid genome reveals that only a limited number of genes have been acquired from bacteria; thus the reduced gene count of Buchnera does not reflect gene transfer to the host genome. The inventory of metabolic genes in the pea aphid genome suggests that there is extensive metabolite exchange between the aphid and Buchnera, including sharing of amino acid biosynthesis between the aphid and Buchnera. The pea aphid genome provides a foundation for post-genomic studies of fundamental biological questions and applied agricultural problems
A review on effects of conjugated linoleic fatty acid (CLA) upon body composition and energetic metabolism
How does bridging social capital relate to health-behavior, overweight and obesity among low and high educated groups? A cross-sectional analysis of GLOBE-2014
Does cultural capital contribute to educational inequalities in food consumption in the Netherlands? A cross-sectional analysis of the GLOBE-2011 survey
Individual and environmental factors associated for overweight in urban population of Brazil
Background: Obesity is a significant global public health problem and the main cause of many chronic diseases in
both developed and developing countries. The increase in obesity in different populations worldwide cannot be
explained solely by metabolic and genetic factors; environmental and social factors also have a strong association
with obesity. Thus, it is believed that the current obesity epidemic is the result of a complex combination of
genetic factors and an obesogenic environment .The purpose of this study was to evaluate individual variables and
variables within the built and social environment for their potential association with overweight and obesity in an
urban Brazilian population.
Methods: Cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 3404 adults living in the urban area of the city.
Information from the surveillance system for chronic diseases of Brazilian Ministry of Health was used and individual
data was collected by telephone interviews. The database was geocoded using the Brazilian System of Postal Codes
for participant residences. An updated, existing list based on the current addresses of supermarkets and
hypermarkets in the city was used as an indicator variable of the availability and access to food. Georeferenced
information on parks, public squares, places for practicing physical activity and the population density were also
used to create data on the built environment. To characterize the social environment, we used the health
vulnerability index (HVI) and georeferenced data for homicide locations.
Results: The prevalence was 44% for overweight, poisson regression was used to create the final model. The
environment variables that independently associated with overweight were the highest population density, very
high health vulnerability index and the homicide rate adjusted for individuals variables. The results of the current
study illustrate and confirm some important associations between individual and environmental variables and
overweight in a representative sample of adults in the Brazilian urban context.
Conclusions: The social environment variables relating to the socioeconomic deprivation of the neighborhood and
the built environment variables relating to higher walkability were significantly associated with overweight and
obesity in Belo Horizonte.This study was funded by Brazilian Ministry of Health (number 134/209). G.
Velásquez- Meléndez is researcher from the National Council for Scientific
and Technological Development (CNPQ) and the Fundação de Amparo à
Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)