Role Profiles of HRD Practitioners in the Netherlands

This study of HRD practitioners and experts in the Netherlands was executed in 1993 and based on an earlier US role profile study. Two types of profiles were identified for eleven different roles that an HRD practitioner might perform within her or his job. Both profiles consist of core outputs of the different roles and the core competencies required for achievement of the outputs. Comparisons were drawn between current and future profiles and between the results of the expert study and the outcomes of the US study. The American role profiles appeared to be largely valid for the Dutch context

ProMoT : Modular Modeling for Systems Biology

Summary: PROMOT is a software designed to support efficient and comprehensible modeling, visualization and analysis of complex and large-scale models. In recent years it has been improved in many aspects. New functionality especially tailored for Systems Biology has been added. It is now a very convenient tool for modular modeling. Availability: PROMOT is an open source project and freely available at http://www.mpi-magdeburg.mpg.de/projects/promot/download.html

Recent advances and application of doubled haploids in wheat breeding

Genetic improvement to develop varieties with high yield potential and resistance/tolerance to abiotic and  biotic stresses with acceptable end use qualities is the most viable and environment friendly option to increase wheat yield in a sustainable fashion. In vitro haploid production followed by chromosome doubling greatly  enhances the production of complete homozygous wheat lines in a single generation and increases the  precision and efficiency of selection process in wheat breeding. It also enables the detection of linkage and  gene interactions, estimate genetic variance and the number of genes for quantitative characteristics, produce genetic translocations, substitutions and chromosome addition lines, and facilitate genetic transformation and mutation studies. Wheat cultivars developed from doubled haploids using anther-culture and maize induction systems have been released for cultivation in both developed and developing countries. In this review, the  origin and production of haploids, techniques in anther-culture and wheat x maize wide crosses, and their  application in wheat breeding are summarized.Key words: Doubled haploid, wheat breeding, wheat yield

Multiple imputation in data that grow over time:A comparison of three strategies

Multiple imputation is a highly recommended technique to deal with missing data, but the application to longitudinal datasets can be done in multiple ways. When a new wave of longitudinal data arrives, we can treat the combined data of multiple waves as a new missing data problem and overwrite existing imputations with new values (re-imputation). Alternatively, we may keep the existing imputations, and impute only the new data. We may do either a full multiple imputation (nested) or a single imputation (appended) on the new data per imputed set. This study compares these three strategies by means of simulation. All techniques resulted in valid inference under a monotone missingness pattern. A non-monotone missingness pattern led to biased and non-confidence valid regression coefficients after nested and appended imputation, depending on the correlation structure of the data. Correlations within timepoints must be stronger than correlations between timepoints to obtain valid inference. In an empirical example, the three strategies performed similarly.We conclude that appended imputation is especially beneficial in longitudinal datasets that suffer from dropout

Multiple imputation in data that grow over time:A comparison of three strategies

Multiple imputation is a recommended technique to deal with missing data. We study the problem where the investigator has already created imputations before the arrival of the next wave of data. The newly arriving data contain missing values that need to be imputed. The standard method (RE-IMPUTE) is to combine the new and old data before imputation, and re-impute all missing values in the combined data. We study the properties of two methods that impute the missing data in the new part only, thus preserving the historic imputations. Method NEST multiply imputes the new data conditional on each filled-in old data (Formula presented.) times. Method APPEND is the special case of NEST with (Formula presented.) thus appending each filled-in data by single imputation. We found that NEST and APPEND have the same validity as RE-IMPUTE for monotone missing data-patterns. NEST and APPEND also work well when relations within waves are stronger than between waves and for moderate percentages of missing data. We do not recommend the use of NEST or APPEND when relations within time points are weak and when associations between time points are strong

Spinal cord injuries and bowel stomas:timing and satisfaction with stoma formation and alterations in quality of life

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.OBJECTIVES: Neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) is frequent among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and is often difficult to treat. A bowel stoma is considered the last-resort treatment option for individuals with SCI and severe NBD. This study aims to explore whether individuals are satisfied with their bowel stoma and how they feel about the timing of stoma formation. Furthermore, we want to explore side effects addressing diversion colitis and changes in quality of life (QOL) after stoma formation.SETTING: Netherlands, community.METHODS: We included participants aged at least 18 years with a traumatic or non-traumatic SCI and bowel stoma. Questions regarding timing of stoma formation, alterations in QOL after stoma formation and experienced side effects of the bowel stoma were addressed in an online questionnaire.RESULTS: In total 23 participants filled out the online survey. Twenty-two participants (96%) were satisfied with their bowel stoma and 83% felt their stoma was placed too late or far too late. The large majority (&gt;80%) reported improvements in the four QOL domains after the procedure. Nine participants reported stoma-related problems in the last month. In the last three months, seven participants (30%) reported to have diversion colitis. Four of these seven participants experienced this at least once a week or more. Two participants stated this had moderate influence on daily activities.CONCLUSIONS: Most participants with SCI experienced improvement in QOL and in retrospect wanted their bowel stoma earlier. Early, extensive conversations to inform individuals about bowel stoma as a treatment option is recommended.</p

IL-1RL1a serum levels and IL1RL1 SNPs in the prediction of food allergy

Food allergy is a common disorder in the Western world, with increasing prevalence and substantial healthcare costs(1). Food allergy is often accompanied by the presence of specific IgE against harmless proteins in food, but not all sensitized children show clinical reactions upon exposure. Therefore, double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges (DBPCFC) remain the gold standard to diagnose food allergy, yet this test is demanding. Biomarkers that can predict clinical response to food are urgently needed