Cardiac fiber orientation in goat measured with Diffusion Tensor Imaging

We therefore hypothesize that fiber reorientation could be a local adaptive mechanism by which the strain distribution across the cardiac wall is homogenized. To test this hypothesis we measured fiber orientation in normal goat hearts and in goat hearts in which the mechanical load was locally distributed of an infarction. Diffusion Tensor Imaging was used to measure fiber orientation in voxels of 0.4 x 0.4 x 3.0 mm3. Preliminary results of measurements after 10 weeks infarction reveal a disturbance of this characteristic pattern. [In English

Coupled transcriptome and proteome analysis of human lymphotropic tumor viruses: insights on the detection and discovery of viral genes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are related human tumor viruses that cause primary effusion lymphomas (PEL) and Burkitt's lymphomas (BL), respectively. Viral genes expressed in naturally-infected cancer cells contribute to disease pathogenesis; knowing which viral genes are expressed is critical in understanding how these viruses cause cancer. To evaluate the expression of viral genes, we used high-resolution separation and mass spectrometry coupled with custom tiling arrays to align the viral proteomes and transcriptomes of three PEL and two BL cell lines under latent and lytic culture conditions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of viral genes were efficiently detected at the transcript and/or protein level on manipulating the viral life cycle. Overall the correlation of expressed viral proteins and transcripts was highly complementary in both validating and providing orthogonal data with latent/lytic viral gene expression. Our approach also identified novel viral genes in both KSHV and EBV, and extends viral genome annotation. Several previously uncharacterized genes were validated at both transcript and protein levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This systems biology approach coupling proteome and transcriptome measurements provides a comprehensive view of viral gene expression that could not have been attained using each methodology independently. Detection of viral proteins in combination with viral transcripts is a potentially powerful method for establishing virus-disease relationships.</p

Ouderonderzoek leren loont!: rapportage

Gemeente Rotterdam heeft in 2015 het onderwijsbeleidsprogramma ‘Leren Loont!’ ingevoerd. Het beleidsprogramma is erop gericht ‘zo veel mogelijk kinderen en jongeren in Rotterdam hun kansen te laten verzilveren’ (Gemeente Rotterdam e.a., 2015). Thema’s in Leren Loont zijn: - Een vliegende start - investeren in kwaliteit en bereik in de voorschoolse periode; - De beste leraar voor Rotterdam - voldoende, goed opgeleid en geschikt voor de Rotterdamse context; - Werken aan vakmanschap - vakmensen leveren, imago beroepsonderwijs, loopbaanleren; - Aansluiting onderwijs en jeugdzorg - elk kind een passende plek op school, ondersteuning en wijkgerichte jeugdhulp waar nodig; - Kwaliteit door schoolontwikkeling - doorgaande leerlijn, onderwijsresultaten, brede vorming. Ouderbetrokkenheid is geen apart beleidsthema, maar is in de benoemde thema’s verweven. In opdracht van de gemeente Rotterdam heeft het lectoraat Ouders in Rotterdam Zuid van Hogeschool Rotterdam een vragenlijst ontwikkeld1. Met deze vragenlijst is de beleving van ouders onderzocht ten aanzien van zowel de thema’s de gemeente Rotterdam centraal stelt in het onderwijsbeleid ‘Leren Loont!’ als de samenwerking tussen school en ouders. De vragenlijst zal aan het eind van de beleidsperiode (in 2018) nogmaals worden uitgezet in dezelfde wijken. Dit brengt in beeld of ouders meer tevreden zijn op de beleidsthema’s waar ‘Leren loont!’ op investeert en over de samenwerking met school. In deze rapportage wordt verslag gedaan van de resultaten van de eerste afname (de nulmeting) van de vragenlijst

Towards patient specific models of cardiac mechanics : a sensitivity study

In the design of patient specific mathematical models of cardiac mechanics, the lack of patient specific input data leads to default settings of various model parameters. To estimate the potential errors thus introduced, we evaluated changes in predicted mechanics in a model of the left ventricle (LV) induced by changes in geometry, fiber orientation, heterogeneity of passive material behavior and triaxial active stress development. Incorporation of measured heterogeneity of passive stiffness did not affect systolic mechanics. Incorporation of triaxial active stress development did significantly affect systolic mechanics, but knowledge on this mechanism is too limited to draw conclusions. LV geometry variations covering the biological range changed the equatorial distribution of active myofiber stress and shortening by about 10 to 15%. Similar changes were found by variation of fiber orientation by 8° at maximum. Since this change in orientation is at the edge of the accuracy, with which myofiber orientation can be measured in vitro, and far below the accuracy, obtainable for in vivo measurements, we conclude that the benefit of accounting for patient specific geometry is questionable when using experimental data on fiber orientation. We propose to select myofiber orientation such, that myofiber load is distributed homogeneously across the cardiac wall

Cardiac fiber orientation in goat measured with Diffusion Tensor Imaging

We therefore hypothesize that fiber reorientation could be a local adaptive mechanism by which the strain distribution across the cardiac wall is homogenized. To test this hypothesis we measured fiber orientation in normal goat hearts and in goat hearts in which the mechanical load was locally distributed of an infarction. Diffusion Tensor Imaging was used to measure fiber orientation in voxels of 0.4 x 0.4 x 3.0 mm3. Preliminary results of measurements after 10 weeks infarction reveal a disturbance of this characteristic pattern. [In English