Insights from modeling metabolism and amoeboid cell motility in the immune system

This thesis focuses on two processes involved in fighting infections: metabolism and immune cell motility and navigation.Regarding metabolism, we present ZebraGEM 2.0, an improved whole-genome scale metabolic reconstruction for zebrafish, that we used to study zebrafish metabolism upon infection with Mycobacterium marinum integrating gene expression data from control and infected zebrafish larvae. The chapters focusing on cell motility in response to the environment, revolve around the question of how the environmental inputs of cell-matrix interactions, cell-sized obstacles and cell-signalling upon wounding shape and guide cell motility.Analysis and Stochastic

Kolb in de klas: vijf docenten in het hoger onderwijs onderzoeken de waarde van Kolbs leerstijlen voor hun eigen onderwijspraktijk

Deze bundel bevat de resultaten van vijf kortlopende onderzoeken door deelnemers aan de masteropleiding Teaching in Higher Education, allen docenten in het hoger onderwijs, naar de waarde van de leerstijlen van Kolb voor hun eigen lespraktijk. Uit de onderzoeken komt naar voren dat het onderwijsaanbod niet geheel bepaald wordt door de leerstijl van de docent, maar dat het zou kunnen zijn dat het wel deels hierdoor beïnvloed wordt. Ook zijn vier manieren geïdentificeerd waarop docenten rekening houden met individuele verschillen tussen studenten. Ten aanzien van het verrichten van dit type onderzoek blijkt een noodzaak om het vóórkomen van en voorkeuren voor bepaalde leerstijlen op verschillende manieren te meten en om zowel met kwalitatieve als kwantitatieve methoden te werken; daarbij kan de Chi-square goodness-of-fit test voor één groep, goede diensten bewijzen. Ook lijkt het dat aangetroffen verschillen in leerstijlen wel eens veroorzaakt zouden kunnen zijn tussen verschillen in wat en hoe men meet, en geen reflectie zijn van feitelijke verschillen in leerstijlen

North-coast of Texel: a comparison between reality and prediction

For an efficient protection of the north coast of the Dutch Waddensea island Texel, a long dam was constructed in 1995. The position of this dam is on the southern swash platform of the ebb tidal delta of the Eijerlandse Gat: the tidal inlet between the two Waddensea islands Texel and Vlieland. The long dam changed the hydro-morphological conditions in this tidal inlet. The changes in the inlet's morphology have been monitored through regular bathymetry surveys. This paper describes some of the most remarkable changes that occurred in the inlet after the construction of the long dam. The impact of the long dam on the inlet's morphology and the adjacent shoreline stability has been examined with the use of a medium-term morphodynamic model. From a comparison between the observed and predicted morphological changes it followed that the model was able to simulate the large scale morphological response of the inlet system. However, on a smaller scale there were still important discrepancies between the observations and the predictions

Predicting Metabolism from Gene Expression in an Improved Whole-Genome Metabolic Network Model of Danio rerio

Zebrafish is a useful modeling organism for the study of vertebrate development, immune response, and metabolism. Metabolic studies can be aided by mathematical reconstructions of the metabolic network of zebrafish. These list the substrates and products of all biochemical reactions that occur in the zebrafish. Mathematical techniques such as flux-balance analysis then make it possible to predict the possible metabolic flux distributions that optimize, for example, the turnover of food into biomass. The only available genome-scale reconstruction of zebrafish metabolism is ZebraGEM. In this study, we present ZebraGEM 2.0, an updated and validated version of ZebraGEM. ZebraGEM 2.0 is extended with gene-protein-reaction associations (GPRs) that are required to integrate genetic data with the metabolic model. To demonstrate the use of these GPRs, we performed an in silico genetic screening for knockouts of metabolic genes and validated the results against published in vivo genetic knockout and knockdown screenings. Among the single knockout simulations, we identified 74 essential genes, whose knockout stopped growth completely. Among these, 11 genes are known have an abnormal knockout or knockdown phenotype in vivo (partial), and 41 have human homologs associated with metabolic diseases. We also added the oxidative phosphorylation pathway, which was unavailable in the published version of ZebraGEM. The updated model performs better than the original model on a predetermined list of metabolic functions. We also determined a minimal feed composition. The oxidative phosphorylation pathways were validated by comparing with published experiments in which key components of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway were pharmacologically inhibited. To test the utility of ZebraGEM2.0 for obtaining new results, we integrated gene expression data from control and Mycobacterium marinum-infected zebrafish larvae. The resulting model predicts impeded growth and altered histidine metabolism in the infected larvae.Animal science

The acceptance and use of the e-Health instrument 'The personal health check' in four Dutch municipalities:Lessons learned

This pilot study assessed the acceptance and use of the e-Health instrument “the Personal Health Check” (PHC) among clients and professionals in primary care settings. By filling in the online PHC instrument, participants were provided insights into their health and lifestyle. When results revealed an increased health risk, participants were advised to undertake additional lab tests measuring blood pressure and haemaglobin levels. Based on the online questionnaire and optional lab tests, participants then received a report that included individually-tailored feedback from the e-Health application about personal health risks and suggestions for health interventions. The PHC was implemented in 2016 in four Dutch municipalities that determined which neighbourhood(s) the PHC targeted and how participants were invited. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology was used as a theoretical framework to address our research questions. Methods used to assess acceptance were: PHC instrument data, data from additional questionnaires completed by PHC participants, focus groups with PHC participants and professionals in primary care, and telephone interviews with non-responders to the invitation to participate in the online PHC. Of the 21,735 invited, 12% participated. Our results showed that participants and professionals in this pilot were predominantly positive about the PHC. Participants reported that they made an effort to apply the PHC lifestyle advice they received. Almost all had the knowledge and resources needed to use the PHC online instrument. Invitations from general practitioners almost doubled participation relative to invitations from the sponsoring municipalities. The overall low response rate, however, suggests that the PHC is unsuitable as a foundation on which to develop local public health policy

Computational modelling of cell motility modes emerging from cell-matrix adhesion dynamics

Animal sciencesAnalysis and Stochastic

A novel function of TLR2 and MyD88 in the regulation of leukocyte cell migration behavior during wounding in zebrafish larvae

Analysis and StochasticsComputer Systems, Imagery and Medi

E-Selectin is Elevated in Cord Blood of South Asian Neonates Compared with Caucasian Neonates

Diabetes mellitus: pathophysiological changes and therap

Family coordination in families who have a child with autism spectrum disorder

Little is known about the interactions of families where there is a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study applies the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP) to explore both its applicability to this population as well as to assess resources and areas of deficit in these families. The sample consisted of 68 families with a child with ASD, and 43 families with a typically developing (TD) child. With respect to the global score for family coordination there were several negative correlations: the more severe the symptoms (based on the child’s ADOS score), the more family coordination was dysfunctional. This correlation was particularly high when parents had to play together with the child. In the parts in which only one of the parents played actively with the child, while the other was simply present, some families did achieve scores in the functional range, despite the child’s symptom severity. The outcomes are discussed in terms of their clinical implications both for assessment and for interventio

Trust in governance networks: Its impacts on outcomes

__Abstract__ Governance networks are characterized by complex interaction and decision making, and much uncertainty. Surprisingly, there is very little research on the impact of trust in achieving results in governance networks. This article asks two questions: (a) Does trust influence the outcomes of environmental projects? and (b) Does active network management improve the level of trust in networks? The study is based on a Web-based survey of respondents involved in environmental projects. The results indicate that trust does matter for perceived outcomes and that network management strategies enhance the level of trust