The travesty of egoism : same-gender passion and homosocial desire in a Dutch seventeenth-Century morality play

In the seventeenth-century Netherlands, drama and politics were interwoven with one another. This was also the case with the controversial morality play Tieranny van Eigenbaat (Tyranny of Egoism, 1679), which opposed the House of Orange, and especially William III, Stadtholder of the Netherlands and King of England (who was, according to the writers of the play, a true example of uncontrolled egoism). Although the main character Eigenbaat (Egoism) disguises himself as a warrior woman (an Amazon) to seize power, his cross-dressing has not been discussed in relation to rumors surrounding William's alleged sexual preferences. By "reading against the grain," this article discusses the so-called faultlines, where the characters display same-gender passions for each other. The article focusses on two examples of such relationships: Egoism, who seduces Lady Will, while in female disguise, and the intimate nature of Egoism's relationship with his male servant and slave, Vice. As such, the article offers an elaboration on the thesis that Tieranny van Eigenbaat was used by the republican authorities of Amsterdam as a propaganda play to discredit William III for rule, as well as his offspring

Statistical analysis of time-resolved emission from ensembles of semiconductor quantum dots: Interpretation of exponential decay models

We present a statistical analysis of time-resolved spontaneous emission decay curves from ensembles of emitters, such as semiconductor quantum dots, with the aim of interpreting ubiquitous non-single-exponential decay. Contrary to what is widely assumed, the density of excited emitters and the intensity in an emission decay curve are not proportional, but the density is a time integral of the intensity. The integral relation is crucial to correctly interpret non-single-exponential decay. We derive the proper normalization for both a discrete and a continuous distribution of rates, where every decay component is multiplied by its radiative decay rate. A central result of our paper is the derivation of the emission decay curve when both radiative and nonradiative decays are independently distributed. In this case, the well-known emission quantum efficiency can no longer be expressed by a single number, but is also distributed. We derive a practical description of non-single-exponential emission decay curves in terms of a single distribution of decay rates; the resulting distribution is identified as the distribution of total decay rates weighted with the radiative rates. We apply our analysis to recent examples of colloidal quantum dot emission in suspensions and in photonic crystals, and we find that this important class of emitters is well described by a log-normal distribution of decay rates with a narrow and a broad distribution, respectively. Finally, we briefly discuss the Kohlrausch stretched-exponential model, and find that its normalization is ill defined for emitters with a realistic quantum efficiency of less than 100%.\ud \u

Cultivatietheorie in een veranderd medialandschap: Overzicht van eerdere studies en een toetsing voor een middelgrote stad

Contains fulltext : 3318.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Minder verliezen door betere benutting : bemesting 'Koeien & Kansen', 1999-2001

Dit rapport behandelt het optimaliseren van de bemesting binnen de randvoorwaarden van MINAS, in het kader van het project ‘Koeien & Kansen’. Hierbij is het opstellen van een jaarplan voor de bemesting essentieel. In dit jaarplan is de hoeveelheid kunstmeststikstof, die per ha cultuurgrond aangevoerd mag worden, het uitgangspunt. Deze kunstmest en de op het bedrijf beschikbare mest worden toegedeeld aan de verschillende gewassen. Het belangrijkste doel van het jaarplan voor de N-bemesting is het berekenen van de Njaargift op het intensief gebruikte grasland, waarbij de MINAS-eindnorm voor N kan worden gehaal

Nieuw kalibemestingsadvies voor grasland

De Commissie Bemesting Grasland en Voedergewassen heeft in 2000 het kalibemestingsadvies voor grasland op een aantal punten gewijzigd

Metformin for non-diabetic patients with coronary heart disease (the CAMERA study): a randomised controlled trial

<br>Background: Metformin reduces cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes seemingly independent of lowering blood glucose concentration. We assessed the cardiovascular effects of metformin in individuals without type 2 diabetes.</br> <br>Methods: We did a single-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at the Glasgow Clinical Research Facility (Glasgow, UK). We enrolled patients taking statins who did not have type 2 diabetes but who did have coronary heart disease and large waist circumferences. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) by computer to either metformin (850 mg twice daily) or matching placebo in block sizes of four. Patients, investigators, trial staff, and statisticians were masked to treatment allocation. The primary endpoint was progression of mean distal carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) over 18 months in the modified intention-to-treat population. Secondary endpoints were changes in carotid plaque score (in six regions), measures of glycaemia (HbA1c, fasting glucose, and insulin concentrations, and Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance [HOMA-IR]), and concentrations of lipids, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, and tissue plasminogen activator. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00723307.</br> <br>Findings: We screened 356 patients, of whom we enrolled 173 (86 in the metformin group, 87 in the placebo group). Average age was 63 years. At baseline, mean cIMT was 0·717 mm (SD 0·129) and mean carotid plaque score was 2·43 (SD 1·55). cIMT progression did not differ significantly between groups (slope difference 0·007 mm per year, 95% CI −0·006 to 0·020; p=0·29). Change of carotid plaque score did not differ significantly between groups (0·01 per year, 95% CI −0·23 to 0·26; p=0·92). Patients taking metformin had lower HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR, and tissue plasminogen activator compared with those taking placebo, but there were no significant differences for total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, non-HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, or fasting glucose. 138 adverse events occurred in 64 patients in the metformin group versus 120 in 60 patients in the placebo group. Diarrhoea and nausea or vomiting were more common in the metformin group than in the placebo group (28 vs 5).</br> <br>Interpretation: Metformin had no effect on cIMT and little or no effect on several surrogate markers of cardiovascular disease in non-diabetic patients with high cardiovascular risk, taking statins. Further evidence is needed before metformin can be recommended for cardiovascular benefit in this population.</br&gt

The descriptive epidemiology of total physical activity, muscle-strengthening exercises and sedentary behaviour among Australian adults - results from the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey

Background: The current Australia's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines recommend that adults engage in regular moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) and strength training (ST), and minimise time spent in sedentary behaviours (SB). However, evidence about the specific individual and concurrent distribution of these behaviours in Australia is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of MVPA, ST and SB in a national-representative sample of Australian adults. Methods: Data were collected using face-to-face interviews, as part of the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2011-12. The population-weighted proportions meeting the MVPA (≥150 min/week), ST (≥2 sessions/week) and combined MVPA-ST guidelines, and proportions classified as having 'low levels of SB' (<480 min/day) were calculated, and their associations with selected sociodemographic and health-related variables were assessed using multiple logistic regression analyses. This was also done for those at potentially 'high-risk', defined as insufficient MVPA-ST and 'high-sedentary' behaviour. Results: Out of 9345 participants (response rate = 77.0 %), aged 18-85 years, 52.6 % (95 % CI: 51.2 %-54.0 %), 18.6 % (95 % CI: 17.5 %-19.7 %) and 15.0 % (95 % CI: 13.9 %-16.1 %) met the MVPA, ST and combined MVPA-ST guidelines, respectively. Female gender, older age, low/medium education, poorer self-rated health, being classified as underweight or obese, and being a current smoker were independently associated with lower odds of meeting the MVPA, ST and combined MVPA-ST guidelines. A total of 78.9 % (95 % CI: 77.9 %-80.0 %) were classified as having low levels of SB. Females, older adults and those with lower education were more likely to report lower levels of SB, whilst those with poor self-rated health and obese individuals were less likely to report lower levels of SB (i.e. SB = ≥480 min/day). A total of 8.9 % (95 % CI: 8.1 %-9.6 %) were categorised as individuals at potentially 'high-risk'. Those with poorer self-rated health, obese individuals, those aged 25-44, and current smokers were more likely to be in the 'high risk' group. Conclusions: The large majority of Australian adults do not meet the full physical activity guidelines and/or report excessive SB. Our results call for public health interventions to reduce physical inactivity and SB in Australia, particularly among the subgroups at the highest risk of these unhealthy behaviours

Pumping iron in Australia: Prevalence, trends and sociodemographic correlates of muscle strengthening activity participation from a national sample of 195,926 adults

OBJECTIVE:The current Australian Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that adults engage in regular muscle-strengthening activity (e.g. strength or resistance training). However, public health surveillance studies describing the patterns and trends of population-level muscle-strengthening activity participation are sparse. The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence, trends and sociodemographic correlates of muscle-strengthening activity participation in a national-representative sample of Australians aged 15 years and over. METHODS:Between 2001 and 2010, quarterly cross-sectional national telephone surveys were conducted as part of the Australian Sports Commission's 'Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey'. Pooled population-weighted proportions were calculated for reporting: [i] no muscle-strengthening activity; [ii] insufficient muscle-strengthening activity, and [iii] sufficient muscle-strengthening activity. Associations with sociodemographic variables were assessed using multiple logistic regression analyses. RESULTS:Out of 195,926 participants, aged 15-98 years, only 10.4% (95% CI: 10.1-10.7) and 9.3% (95% CI: 9.1-9.5) met the muscle-strengthening activity recommendations in the past two weeks and in the past year, respectively. Older adults (50+ years), and those living in socioeconomically disadvantaged, outer regional/remote areas and with lower education were less likely to report sufficient muscle-strengthening activity (p<0.001). Over the 10-year monitoring period, there was a significant increase in the prevalence of sufficient muscle-strengthening activity (6.4% to 12.0%, p-value for linear trend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS:A vast majority of Australian adults did not engage in sufficient muscle-strengthening activity. There is a need for public health strategies to support participation in muscle-strengthening activity in this population. Such strategies should target older and lower educated adults, and those living in socioeconomically disadvantaged, outer regional/remote and areas

Coronary artery endothelial dysfunction is positively correlated with low density lipoprotein and inversely correlated with high density lipoprotein subclass particles measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

OBJECTIVE: The association between cholesterol and endothelial dysfunction remains controversial. We tested the hypothesis that lipoprotein subclasses are associated with coronary endothelial dysfunction. METHODS AND RESULTS: Coronary endothelial function was assessed in 490 patients between November 1993 and February 2007. Fasting lipids and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) lipoprotein particle subclasses were measured. There were 325 females and 165 males with a mean age of 49.8+/-11.6 years. Coronary endothelial dysfunction (epicardial constriction>20% or increase in coronary blood flow<50% in response to intracoronary acetylcholine) was diagnosed in 273 patients, the majority of whom (64.5%) had microvascular dysfunction. Total cholesterol and LDL-C (low density lipoprotein cholesterol) were not associated with endothelial dysfunction. One-way analysis and multivariate methods adjusting for age, gender, diabetes, hypertension and lipid-lowering agent use were used to determine the correlation between lipoprotein subclasses and coronary endothelial dysfunction. Epicardial endothelial dysfunction was significantly correlated with total (p=0.03) and small LDLp (LDL particles) (p<0.01) and inversely correlated with total and large HDLp (high density lipoprotein particles) (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Epicardial, but not microvascular, coronary endothelial dysfunction was associated directly with LDL particles and inversely with HDL particles, suggesting location-dependent impact of lipoprotein particles on the coronary circulation