482 research outputs found

    Sustainable Urban Forest Management Planning Using Criteria and Indicators

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    This poster discusses how Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for success in sustainable urban forest management, first outlined by Clark et al. (1997), can be successfully applied as tools to improve Strategic Urban Forest Management planning. It presents updates and modifications to the original tables, developed by van Wassenaer, Kenney and Satel (in press) to improve their application in strategic planning. A case study demonstrates how C&I were used to evaluate current management practices in the Town of Oakville, Ontario. This poster also outlines the strategic planning framework used in the preparation of the Oakville Plan, and presents it as a model applicable to any size of community interested in sustainably managing its urban forest resources

    Constructing the public in roadmapping the transition to a bioeconomy : A case study from the Netherlands

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    In recent years there has been increasing attention to the transition toward a bioeconomy. From comparable transitions toward sustainability, we know that transitions require integral, inclusive approaches toward developing a long-term strategy, focusing not only on technological innovation, but also on involving the public. This is not easy. Public engagement encompasses diverse forms of public and civil society participation, and it is crucial to understand the specificities of these interactions and their effects on potential transition pathways. We present a conceptual-analytical paper where the focus lies on understanding sense-making practices in the construction of publics in the bioeconomy. Using a case-study approach, this article describes five partialities of the constructed public in the bioeconomy and analyzes the orchestration, productive dimensions and effects of these constructions. Our analysis offers a new perspective on, and appreciation of, the partiality of different forms of public participation, and varying degrees in which possibilities of system change in the bioeconomy transition are inclusive or exclusive toward differentially constructed publics. This offers an alternative, constructive way of exploring actor dynamics and politics in system change. We aim to contribute to a more nuanced and integral interpretation of public engagement in sustainability transitions, which is relevant to actors from academia, policy, industry and other spheres relevant to the bioeconomy transition.</p

    Early-onset fetal growth restriction:A systematic review on mortality and morbidity

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    Introduction: Severe early-onset fetal growth restriction is an obstetric condition with significant risks of perinatal mortality, major and minor neonatal morbidity, and long-term health sequelae. The prognosis of a fetus is influenced by the extent of prematurity and fetal weight. Clinical care is individually adjusted. In literature, survival rates vary and studies often only include live-born neonates with missing rates of antenatal death. This systematic review aims to summarize the literature on mortality and morbidity. Material and methods: A broad literature search was conducted in OVID MEDLINE from 2000 to 26 April 2019 to identify studies on fetal growth restriction and perinatal death. Studies were excluded when all included children were born before 2000 because (neonatal) health care has considerably improved since this period. Studies were included that described fetal growth restriction diagnosed before 32 weeks of gestation and antenatal mortality and neonatal mortality and/or morbidity as outcome. Quality of evidence was rated with the GRADE instrument. Results: Of the 2604 publications identified, 25 studies, reporting 2895 pregnancies, were included in the systematic review. Overall risk of bias in most studies was judged as low. The quality of evidence was generally rated as very low to moderate, except for 3 large well-designed randomized controlled trials. When combining all data on mortality, in 355 of 2895 pregnancies (12%) the fetus died antenatally, 192 died in the neonatal period (8% of live-born neonates) and 2347 (81% of all pregnancies) children survived. Of the neonatal morbidities recorded, respiratory distress syndrome (34% of the live-born neonates), retinopathy of prematurity (13%) and sepsis (30%) were most common. Of 476 children that underwent neurodevelopmental assessment, 58 (12% of surviving children, 9% of all pregnancies) suffered from cognitive impairment and/or cerebral palsy. Conclusions: When combining the data of 25 included studies, survival in fetal growth restriction pregnancies, diagnosed before 32 weeks of gestation, was 81%. Neurodevelopmental impairment was assessed in a minority of surviving children. Individual prognostic counseling on the basis of these results is hampered by differences in patient and pregnancy characteristics within the included patient groups

    Non-radiologist-performed abdominal point-of-care ultrasonography in paediatrics - a scoping review

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    Background Historically, US in the paediatric setting has mostly been the domain of radiologists. However, in the last decade, there has been an uptake of non-radiologist point-of-care US. Objective To gain an overview of abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US in paediatrics. Materials and methods We conducted a scoping review regarding the uses of abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US, quality of examinations and training, patient perspective, financial costs and legal consequences following the use of non-radiologist point-of-care US. We conducted an advanced search of the following databases: Medline, Embase and Web of Science Conference Proceedings. We included published original research studies describing abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US in children. We limited studies to English-language articles from Western countries. Results We found a total of 5,092 publications and selected 106 publications for inclusion: 39 studies and 51 case reports or case series on the state-of-art of abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US, 14 on training of non-radiologists, and 1 each on possible harms following non-radiologist point-of-care US and patient satisfaction. According to included studies, non-radiologist point-of-care US is increasingly used, but no standardised training guidelines exist. We found no studies regarding the financial consequences of non-radiologist point-of-care US. Conclusion This scoping review supports the further development of non-radiologist point-of-care US and underlines the need for consensus on who can do which examination after which level of training among US performers. More research is needed on training non-radiologists and on the costs-to-benefits of non-radiologist point-of-care US

    Non-radiologist-performed abdominal point-of-care ultrasonography in paediatrics — a scoping review

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    Background - Historically, US in the paediatric setting has mostly been the domain of radiologists. However, in the last decade, there has been an uptake of non-radiologist point-of-care US. Objective - To gain an overview of abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US in paediatrics. Materials and methods - We conducted a scoping review regarding the uses of abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US, quality of examinations and training, patient perspective, financial costs and legal consequences following the use of non-radiologist point-of-care US. We conducted an advanced search of the following databases: Medline, Embase and Web of Science Conference Proceedings. We included published original research studies describing abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US in children. We limited studies to English-language articles from Western countries. Results - We found a total of 5,092 publications and selected 106 publications for inclusion: 39 studies and 51 case reports or case series on the state-of-art of abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US, 14 on training of non-radiologists, and 1 each on possible harms following non-radiologist point-of-care US and patient satisfaction. According to included studies, non-radiologist point-of-care US is increasingly used, but no standardised training guidelines exist. We found no studies regarding the financial consequences of non-radiologist point-of-care US. Conclusion - This scoping review supports the further development of non-radiologist point-of-care US and underlines the need for consensus on who can do which examination after which level of training among US performers. More research is needed on training non-radiologists and on the costs-to-benefits of non-radiologist point-of-care US

    De kunst van het verleiden: over de 'Presolve Zienswijzemethode' bij bouwprojecten

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    In dit artikel beschrijven mr. A.G.J. van Wassenaer, prof. mr. C.E.C. Jansen, ir. J. Ochtman, mr. P.H.M. Smeets en mr. ing. J.J. van de Vijver de achtergrond en inhoud van de 'Presolve Zienswijzemethode'. Achtereenvolgens komen aan de orde wat de auteurs van hun ervaringen hebben geleerd, hoe de Presolve Zienswijzemethode er uit ziet, welke gedachten bij het ontstaan ervan op de achtergrond meespeelden en wat de verschillen en overeenkomsten zijn tussen deze aanpak en andere procedures

    STRIDER: Sildenafil therapy in dismal prognosis early-onset intrauterine growth restriction – a protocol for a systematic review with individual participant data and aggregate data meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

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    BACKGROUND: In pregnancies complicated by early-onset extreme fetal growth restriction, there is a high risk of preterm birth and an overall dismal fetal prognosis. Sildenafil has been suggested to improve this prognosis. The first aim of this review is to assess whether sildenafil benefits or harms these babies. The second aim is to analyse if these effects are modified in a clinically meaningful way by factors related to the women or the trial protocol. METHODS/DESIGN: The STRIDER (Sildenafil Therapy In Dismal prognosis Early-onset intrauterine growth Restriction) Individual Participant Data (IPD) Study Group will conduct a prospective IPD and aggregate data systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis. The STRIDER IPD Study Group started trial planning and funding applications in 2012. Three trials will be launched in 2014, recruiting for three years. Further trials are planned to commence in 2015. The primary outcome for babies is being alive at term gestation without evidence of serious adverse neonatal outcome. The latter is defined as severe central nervous system injury (severe intraventricular haemorrhage (grade 3 and 4) or cystic periventricular leukomalacia, demonstrated by ultrasound and/or magnetic resonance imaging) or other severe morbidity (bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity requiring treatment, or necrotising enterocolitis requiring surgery). The secondary outcomes are improved fetal growth velocity assessed by ultrasound abdominal circumference measurements, gestational age and birth weight (centile) at delivery, and age-adequate performance on the two-year Bayley scales of infant and toddler development-III (composite cognitive score and composite motor score). Subgroup and sensitivity analyses in the IPD meta-analysis include assessment of the influence of several patient characteristics: an abnormal or normal serum level of placental growth factor, absent/reversed umbilical arterial end diastolic flow at commencement of treatment, and other patient characteristics available at baseline such as gestational age and estimated fetal weight. The secondary outcomes for mothers include co-incidence and severity of the maternal syndrome of pre-eclampsia, mortality, and other serious adverse events. DISCUSSION: Trials are expected to start in 2013–2014 and end in 2016–2017. Data analyses of individual trials are expected to finish in 2019. Given the pre-planned and agreed IPD protocol, these results should be available in 2020

    Wilson disease and psychiatric symptoms: A brief case report

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    Wilson disease (WD) is an uncommon recessive genetic disorder affecting copper metabolism. Cardiac, neurological, hepatic and renal manifestations are well defined, nevertheless approximately 30% of patients debut with neuropsychiatric symptoms. These psychiatric alterations resulting from the accumulation of this heavy metal in the basal ganglia are some how less specific. We present a short review of psychiatric symptoms of WD and describe a case of a 37-year-old woman diagnosed with WD who presented neuropsychiatric symptoms and had a consequent delay in diagnosis and causal treatment. Patients who develop WD starting with a predominance of neuropsychiatric symptoms tend to manifest hepatic symptoms later, therefore have a longer delay of diagnosis and a poorer outcome than patients with hepatic symptoms. An early diagnosis of WD can avoid irreversible neurological damage
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