Stocks, Bonds, T-Bills and Inflation Hedging

We analyze the inflation-hedging properties of US stocks, bonds, and T-bills at the subindex level during the 1983 “ 2012 period, for investment horizons between 1 month and 10 years. Bonds other than T-bills turn out poor inflation hedges during the entire sample period, regardless of the investment horizon. Stocks in both cyclical and non-cyclical industries have virtually no hedging ability until the fall of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. From that moment on, equity subindices particularly in the cyclical industries started to develop statistically significant hedging ability, even in the short run. Hence, the extent to which investors can benefit from the hedging ability of stocks and bonds varies over time and across industries, maturities and investment horizons

Long-term beneficial effects of mirabegron in pediatric patients with therapy-refractory neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction

Introduction: Neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) in children can cause renal failure and urinary incontinence if not treated sufficiently. Antimuscarinics (AM) and intradetrusor botulinum toxin injections (BoNT-A) with clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) are widely used treatment options for children with NLUTD. However, a considerable number will become refractory to these treatment options. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and long-term outcomes of mirabegron in children with NLUTD as an add-on and as a stand-alone treatment. Material and methods: Patients under 18 years of age with NLUTD who were refractory to AM and/or BoNT-A and were treated with mirabegron 50 mg were retrospectively studied. Mirabegron was either used as monotherapy or in addition to AM and/or BoNT-A. Video-urodynamic studies (VUDSs) were performed before and after treatment with mirabegron. Changes in video-urodynamic parameters, the need for other NLUTD therapy during follow-up, patient-reported side effects, and urinary incontinence were outcomes of interest. Results: A total of 34 patients with NLUTD were included. All patients were on CIC and the median age was 13.1 years (IQR 15.9–10.3). Median follow-up was 31.4 months (IQR 57.4–11.4). Bladder compliance improved by 89.9%, from 14.9 to 28.3 ml/cm H2O (p-value&lt;0.001). Maximum cystometric capacity, end-filling detrusor pressure, volume at first detrusor overactivity, vesicoureteral reflux, and urinary incontinence significantly improved after mirabegron. The add-on therapy group showed more significant improvements in video-urodynamic outcomes compared to the monotherapy group. The median time of requiring other NLUTD therapy was 25.5 months (IQR 39.8–14.8). None of the included patients reported side effects.Conclusions: Mirabegron is an effective treatment for children with therapy-refractory NLUTD with an average efficacy of 2 years after which additional therapy is required. Despite the retrospective character of this study, our results confirm the beneficial effect of mirabegron in children with therapy-refractory NLUTD, in particular when mirabegron is used as add-on therapy in those with low-compliance bladders.</p

Voorstel bouwstenen nieuwe weidevogelpakketten agrarisch natuurbeheer in een notendop : wat regelen we in Nederland, wat in Brussel?

In opdracht van directie Kennis van het ministerie van LNV is een voorstel ontwikkeld voor bouwstenen voor nieuwe pakketten weidevogelbeheer. De doelstellingen worden per gebiedsplan vastgesteld. De verantwoordelijkheid hiervoor ligt bij provincies en Rijk, die daarvoor desgewenst een gebiedscommissie in het leven kunnen roepen. Het minimum dat altijd (in alle gebiedsplannen) geldt is: 35 bp /100 ha, bestaande uit één of meer van de volgende soorten: Grutto, Tureluur, Watersnip, Kemphaan, Slobeend, Zomertaling, Veldleeuwerik, Wulp, Kluut, Krakeend, Kuifeend, Wintertaling, Graspieper, Gele kwikstaart, Kievit, Scholekster. Per gebied kan deze doelstelling nader worden gefocust op één of meerdere van bovengenoemde soorten en/of naar boven worden bijgestel

Influence of the Assembly State on the Functionality of a Supramolecular Jagged1-Mimicking Peptide Additive

Expanding the bioactivation toolbox of supramolecular materials is of utmost relevance for their broad applicability in regenerative medicines. This study explores the functionality of a peptide mimic of the Notch ligand Jagged1 in a supramolecular system that is based on hydrogen bonding ureido-pyrimidinone (UPy) units. The functionality of the peptide is studied when formulated as an additive in a supramolecular solid material and as a self-assembled system in solution. UPy conjugation of the DSLJAG1 peptide sequence allows for the supramolecular functionalization of UPy-modified polycaprolactone, an elastomeric material, with UPy-DSLJAG1. Surface presentation of the UPy-DSLJAG1 peptide was confirmed by atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses, but no enhancement of Notch activity was detected in cells presenting Notch1 and Notch3 receptors. Nevertheless, a significant increase in Notch-signaling activity was observed when DSLJAG1 peptides were administered in the soluble form, indicating that the activity of DSLJAG1 is preserved after UPy functionalization but not after immobilization on a supramolecular solid material. Interestingly, an enhanced activity in solution of the UPy conjugate was detected compared with the unconjugated DSLJAG1 peptide, suggesting that the self-assembly of supramolecular aggregates in solution ameliorates the functionality of the molecules in a biological context

Feasibility and reliability of PRISMA-Medical for specialty-based incident analysis

Aims and objectives: In this study, the feasibility and reliability of the Prevention Recovery Information System for Monitoring and Analysis (PRISMA)-Medical method for systematic, specialty-based analysis and classification of incidents in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were determined. Methods: After the introduction of a Neonatology System for Analysis and Feedback on Medical Events (NEOSAFE) in eight tertiary care NICUs and one paediatric surgical ICU, PRISMA-Medical was started to be used to identify root causes of voluntary reported incidents by multidisciplinary unit patient safety committees. Committee members were PRISMA-trained and familiar with the department and its processes. In this study, the results of PRISMA-analysis of incidents reported during the first year are described. At t¿=¿3 months and t¿=¿12 months after introduction, test cases were performed to measure agreement at three levels of root cause classification using PRISMA-Medical. Inter-rater reliability was determined by calculating generalised ¿ values for each level of classification. Results: During the study period, 981 out of 1786 eligible incidents (55%) were analysed for underlying root causes. In total, 2313 root causes were identified and classified, giving an average of 2.4 root causes for every incident. Although substantial agreement (¿ 0.70–0.81) was reached at the main level of root cause classification of the test cases (discrimination between technical, organisational and human failure) and agreement among the committees at the second level (discrimination between skill-based, rule-based and knowledge-based errors) was acceptable (¿ 0.53–0.59), discrimination between rule-based errors (the third level of classification) was more difficult to assess (¿ 0.40–0.47). Conclusion: With some restraints, PRISMA-Medical proves to be both feasible and acceptably reliable to identify and classify multiple causes of medical events in the NICU