Psychological impact of preconception counseling: Assessment of anxiety before and during pregnancy

Objective: Assessment of anxiety levels in women and men before and after preconception counseling and during the first trimester of pregnancy. Methods: Couples were recruited from the fertility clinic of the University Medical Center Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Anxiety was assessed using the 40-item Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results: 53 women and 51 men (74%) completed the STAI both before and after counseling. Anxiety levels did not change significantly after counseling or during the first trimester of pregnancy. 83.4% would recommend preconception counseling to others. Conclusion: Preconception counseling is valued by the majority of women and men and does not lead to adverse psychological effects. Copyrigh

The COMPASS Experiment at CERN

The COMPASS experiment makes use of the CERN SPS high-intensitymuon and hadron beams for the investigation of the nucleon spin structure and the spectroscopy of hadrons. One or more outgoing particles are detected in coincidence with the incoming muon or hadron. A large polarized target inside a superconducting solenoid is used for the measurements with the muon beam. Outgoing particles are detected by a two-stage, large angle and large momentum range spectrometer. The setup is built using several types of tracking detectors, according to the expected incident rate, required space resolution and the solid angle to be covered. Particle identification is achieved using a RICH counter and both hadron and electromagnetic calorimeters. The setup has been successfully operated from 2002 onwards using a muon beam. Data with a hadron beam were also collected in 2004. This article describes the main features and performances of the spectrometer in 2004; a short summary of the 2006 upgrade is also given.Comment: 84 papes, 74 figure

Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for older adults: a review.

Item does not contain fulltextOBJECTIVE: This review evaluates the effectiveness of physical activity interventions among older adults. METHODS: Computerized searches were performed to identify randomized controlled trials. Studies were included if: (1) the study population consisted of older adults (average sample population age of > or =50 years and minimum age of 40 years); (2) the intervention consisted of an exercise program or was aimed at promoting physical activity; and (3) reported on participation (i.e., adherence/compliance) or changes in level of physical activity (e.g., pre-post test measures and group comparisons). RESULTS: The 38 studies included 57 physical activity interventions. Three types of interventions were identified: home-based, group-based, and educational. In the short-term, both home-based interventions and group-based interventions achieved high rates of participation (means of 90% and 84%, respectively). Participation declined the longer the duration of the intervention. Participation in education interventions varied widely (range of 35% to 96%). Both group-based interventions and education interventions were effective in increasing physical activity levels in the short-term. Information on long-term effectiveness was either absent or showed no difference of physical activity level between the study groups. CONCLUSIONS: Home-based, group-based, and educational physical activity interventions can result in increased physical activity, but changes are small and short-lived. Participation rates of home-based and group-based interventions were comparable, and both seemed to be unrelated to type or frequency of physical activity. The beneficial effect of behavioral reinforcement strategies was not evident. Comparative studies evaluating the effectiveness of diverse interventions are needed to identify the interventions most likely to succeed in the initiation and maintenance of physical activity

Increase of sexually transmitted infections, but not HIV, among young homosexual men in Amsterdam: are STIs still reliable markers for HIV transmission?

Objectives: The incidence of HIV and STIs increased among men who have sex with men (MSM) visiting our STI clinic in Amsterdam. Interestingly, HIV increased mainly among older (⩾35 years) MSM, whereas infection rates of rectal gonorrhoea increased mainly in younger men. To explore this discrepancy we compared trends in STIs and HIV in a cohort of young HIV negative homosexual men from 1984 until 2002. Methods: The study population included 863 men enrolled at ⩽30 years of age from 1984 onward in the Amsterdam Cohort Studies (ACS). They had attended at least one of the 6 monthly follow up ACS visits at which they completed a questionnaire (including self reported gonorrhoea and syphilis episodes) and were tested for syphilis and HIV. Yearly trends in HIV and STI incidence and risk factors were analysed using Poisson regression. Results: Mean age at enrolment was 25 years. The median follow up time was 4 years. Until 1995 trends in HIV and STI incidence were concurrent, however since 1995 there was a significant (p<0.05) increase in syphilis (0 to 1.4/100 person years (PY)) and gonorrhoea incidence (1.1 to 6.0/100 PY), but no change in HIV incidence (1.1 and 1.3/100 PY). Conclusions: The incidence of syphilis and gonorrhoea has increased among young homosexual men since 1995, while HIV incidence has remained stable. Increasing STI incidence underscores the potential for HIV spread among young homosexual men. However, several years of increasing STIs without HIV, makes the relation between STI incidence and HIV transmission a subject for debate

Trends in Expanded-Spectrum Cephalosporin-Resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae among Dutch Clinical Isolates, from 2008 to 2012

We investigated time trends in extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from different patient settings in The Netherlands from 2008-2012. E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates from blood and urine samples of patients > = 18 years were selected from the Dutch Infectious Disease Surveillance System-Antimicrobial Resistance (ISIS-AR) database. We used multivariable Poisson regression to study the rate per year of blood stream infections by susceptible and resistant isolates, and generalized estimating equation (GEE) log-binomial regression for trends in the proportion of extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant isolates. Susceptibility data of 197,513 E. coli and 38,244 K. pneumoniae isolates were included. The proportion of extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates from urine and blood samples increased in all patient settings, except for K. pneumoniae isolates from patients admitted to intensive care units. For K. pneumoniae, there was a different time trend between various patient groups (p<0.01), with a significantly higher increase in extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant isolates from patients attending a general practitioner than in isolates from hospitalized patients. For E. coli, the increasing time trends did not differ among different patient groups. This nationwide study shows a general increase in extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates. However, differences in trends between E. coli en K. pneumoniae underline the importance of E. coli as a community-pathogen and its subsequent influence on hospital resistance level, while for K. pneumoniae the level of resistance within the hospital seems less influenced by the resistance trends in the community

Gram-positive cocci in Dutch ICUs with and without selective decontamination of the oropharyngeal and digestive tract: a retrospective database analysis

Molecular basis of bacterial pathogenesis, virulence factors and antibiotic resistanc

Validation of the dutch short form of the state scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: considerations for usage in screening outcomes.

Item does not contain fulltextOBJECTIVE: To validate the six-item short form of the state scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) for usage in screening outcomes in a Dutch population receiving preconception counseling. METHODS: Men and women completed the 20-item full form of the STAI before (n = 310) and after preconception counseling (n = 147). Prorated scores of the six-item form were compared to the full form using Pearson's correlation coefficients and paired t tests. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha for the Dutch translation of the short-form of the STAI-state was 0.83. The short form highly correlates with the full form (r = 0.95). The short form was able to discriminate between different levels of anxiety and was sensitive to change. CONCLUSION: The Dutch translation of the short form of the STAI-state has good reliability and validity and was found to be useful as a quick tool to evaluate the effectiveness of screening programs on anxiety levels. We believe our results will be applicable to other populations, although this needs to be confirmed in other studies

Gram-positive cocci in Dutch ICUs with and without selective decontamination of the oropharyngeal and digestive tract: a retrospective database analysis.

Item does not contain fulltex