Using epigenomic studies in monozygotic twins to improve our understanding of cancer

Cancer is a set of diseases that exhibit not only genetic mutations but also a profoundly distorted epigenetic landscape. Over the last two decades, great advances have been made in identifying these alterations and their importance in the initiation and progression of cancer. Epigenetic changes can be seen from the very early stages in tumorigenesis and dysregulation of the epigenome has an increasingly acknowledged pathogenic role. Epigenomic twin studies have great potential to contribute to our understanding of complex diseases, such as cancer. This is because the use of monozygotic twins discordant for cancer enables epigenetic variation analysis without the confounding influence of the constitutive genetic background, age or cohort effects. It therefore allows the identification of susceptibility loci that may be sensitive to modification by the environment. These studies into cancer etiology will potentially lead to robust epigenetic markers for the detection and risk assessment of cance

DSpace Under the Hood: How DSpace works

Whilst you don't need to be a mechanic to drive a car, it is helpful if you have a basic understanding of how a car works, what bits do different jobs, and how to top up your oil and pump up your tyres / tires. This presentation will give an overview of the DSpace architecture, and will give you enough knowledge to understand how DSpace works. By knowing this, you will also learn about ways DSpace could be used, and ways in which it can't be used

DSpace Under the Hood: How DSpace works

Whilst you don't need to be a mechanic to drive a car, it is helpful if you have a basic understanding of how a car works, what bits do different jobs, and how to top up your oil and pump up your tyres / tires. This presentation will give an overview of the DSpace architecture, and will give you enough knowledge to understand how DSpace works. By knowing this, you will also learn about ways DSpace could be used, and ways in which it can't be used

DSpace Under the Hood: The development process and YOUR role in it

DSpace development in undertaken by the DSpace community. No one, or no organisation is in charge, and without contributions from the DSpace community the platform would not continue to develop and evolve. Sometimes it can appear that there are people in charge, or that unless you are a technical developer then there is no way or need to contribute. This presentation will explain how DSpace development usually takes place, where and who has input at different stages, and will equip you to contribute further, or to help you contribute for the first time

DSpace Under the Hood: The development process and YOUR role in it

DSpace development in undertaken by the DSpace community. No one, or no organisation is in charge, and without contributions from the DSpace community the platform would not continue to develop and evolve. Sometimes it can appear that there are people in charge, or that unless you are a technical developer then there is no way or need to contribute. This presentation will explain how DSpace development usually takes place, where and who has input at different stages, and will equip you to contribute further, or to help you contribute for the first time

Impact of Gluma Desensitizer on the tensile strength of zirconia crowns bonded to dentin: an in vitro study

This study tested the impact of Gluma Desensitizer on the tensile strength of zirconia crowns bonded to dentin. Human teeth were prepared and randomly divided into six groups (N = 144, n = 24 per group). For each tooth, a zirconia crown was manufactured. The zirconia crowns were cemented with: (1) Panavia21 (PAN), (2) Panavia21 combined with Gluma Desensitizer (PAN-G), (3) RelyX Unicem (RXU), (4) RelyX Unicem combined with Gluma Desensitizer (RXU-G), (5) G-Cem (GCM) and (6) G-Cem combined with Gluma Desensitizer (GCM-G). The initial tensile strength was measured in half (n = 12) of each group and the other half (n = 12) subjected to a chewing machine (1.2 Mio, 49N, 5°C/50°C). The cemented crowns were pulled in a Universal Testing Machine (1mm/min, Zwick Z010) until failure occurred and tensile strength was calculated. Data were analyzed with one-way and two-way ANOVA followed by a post hoc Scheffé test, t test and Kaplan-Meier analysis with a Breslow-Gehan analysis test (α = 0.05). After the chewing simulation, the self-adhesive resin cements combined with Gluma Desensitizer showed significantly higher tensile strength (RXU-G, 12.8 ± 4.3MPa; GCM-G, 13.4 ± 6.2MPa) than PAN (7.3 ± 1.7MPa) and PAN-G (0.9 ± 0.6). Within the groups, PAN, PAN-G and RXU resulted in significantly lower values when compared to the initial tensile strength; the values of all other test groups were stable. In this study, self-adhesive resin cements combined with Gluma Desensitizer reached better long-term stability compared to PAN and PAN-G after chewing simulatio

Postpartum sexual function; the importance of the levator ani muscle

Introduction and hypothesis Pelvic floor muscle function plays an important role in female sexual functioning. Smaller genital hiatal dimensions have been associated with sexual dysfunction, mainly dyspareunia. On the other hand, trauma of the levator ani muscle sustained during childbirth is associated with increased genital hiatus, which potentially can affect sexual functioning by causing vaginal laxity. This study aims to determine the association between levator hiatal dimensions and female sexual dysfunction after first vaginal delivery. Methods This is a secondary analysis of a prospective observational study. Two hundred four women who had a first, spontaneous vaginal delivery at term between 2012 and 2015 were recruited at a minimum of 6 months postpartum. Thirteen pregnant women were excluded. We analyzed the association of total PISQ-12 score, as well as individual sexual complaints (desire, arousal, orgasm and dyspareunia), with levator hiatal dimensions at rest, with maximum Valsalva and during pelvic floor muscle contraction as measured by 4D transperineal ultrasound. Statistical analysis was performed using linear regression analysis and Mann-Whitney U test. Results One hundred ninety-one women were evaluated at a median of 11 months postpartum. There was no significant as

Prognostic factors for recovery of health status after injury: A prospective multicentre cohort study

Objectives To determine prognostic factors for health status and recovery patterns during the first 2 years after injury in the clinical trauma population. Design A prospective longitudinal cohort study. Setting Ten participating hospitals in Brabant, the Netherlands. Participants Injured adult patients admitted to a hospital between August 2015 and November 2016 were followed: 4883 (50%) patients participated. Main outcome measures Primary outcome was health status, measured with the EuroQol-5-dimensions-3-levels (EQ-5D), including a cognition item and the EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale. Health status was collected at 1 week, 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after injury. Potential prognostic factors were based on literature and clinical experience (eg, age, sex, pre-injury frailty (Groningen Frailty Index), pre-injury EQ-5D). Results Health status increased mainly during the first 6 months after injury with a mean EQ-5D utility score at 1 week of 0.49 and 0.79 at 24 months. The dimensions mobility, pain/discomfort and usual activities improved up to 2 years after injury. Lower pre-injury health status, frailty and longer length of stay at the hospital were important prognostic factors for poor recovery. Spine injury, lower and upper extremity injury showed to be prognostic factors for problems after injury. Traumatic brain injury was a prognostic factor for cognitive problems. Conclusion This study contributes to the increase in knowledge of health recovery after injury. It could be a starting point to develop prediction models for specific injury classifications and implementation of personalised medicine. Trial registration number NCT02508675

Chronic stressors and burnout in Dutch police officers: Two studies into the complex role of coping self-efficacy

IntroductionBurnout complaints are high for Dutch police officers. According to Hobfoll’s Conservation of Resources theory, resources such as coping self-efficacy can play an important role in the burnout process. The aim of this study was to investigate the buffering effect of coping self-efficacy on burnout, as well as a possible depletion effect of burnout on coping self-efficacy.MethodsAs such, this research consists of two studies namely, a two-wave study (N = 166) and three-wave study (N = 95) on Dutch police officers. They expand on previous research regarding coping resources and police burnout.ResultsBoth studies show that the chronic stressor, work scheduling, was positively associated with burnout. Also, coping self-efficacy weakened the effect of work scheduling (Study 1) and workload (Study 2) on burnout. Moreover, there was a direct negative relationship between burnout and coping self-efficacy.DiscussionThe results indicate that burnout can lead to lower coping resources, initiating a potential cycle of resource loss and burnout. Further investigation into this depletion effect is required to provide police officers and organisations with tools to prevent burnout