Keukentafelgesprekken Waardewerken

In het praktijknetwerk Waardewerken werken multifunctionele ondernemers samen met onderzoekers van Wageningen UR aan de uitdaging om de multifunctionele landbouw verder te versterken en te ontwikkelen tot een professionele en krachtige sector. Tijdens de keukentafelgesprekken worden de zorgpunten en eventuele oplossingen over de multifunctionele landbouw aangegeven

Improved performance of PACE 2 with modified collection system in combination with probe competition assay for detecti

The Gen-Probe PACE 2 assay (GP) in combination with a modified collection system was compared with cell culture (CC) for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urethral specimens from males. Analysis of discordant results was performed by PCR. The modifications, i.e., application of a more rigid swab type and a 50% reduction in the amount of transport medium, were made to improve the sensitivity of the assay. By using the modified GP on 302 urethral specimens from males, a sensitivity of 89.5% and a specificity of 100% were determined. In addition, performance of a probe competition assay on all GP samples with a result > 0.6 and < 1.0 times the cutoff factor (gray zone) detected three more true-positive samples. The sensitivity of GP in combination with the probe competition assay increased to 94.9%, with a specificity of 100%. This was identical to the performance of CC. The modified GP offers a very sensitive and specific alternative to CC

Exotische macrofauna en macrofyten in de Nederlandse zoete wateren : voorkomen en beleid in 2012

Tot 2012 zijn er circa 66 macrofauna-exoten en 36 exotische water- en oeverplanten vastgesteld in de Nederlandse zoete wateren. Het exacte aantal is niet vast te stellen omdat de herkomst van een aantal soorten onduidelijk is. Voor de zoetwatermacrofauna is dit ongeveer 3% van de totale fauna, terwijl voor waterplanten dit percentage hoger ligt; rond de 8%. De laatste jaren is het aantal nieuwkomers binnen de macrofauna sterk gestegen. De handel in dieren en planten (waarmee de dieren meeliften) is een zeer belangrijke bron van exoten geworden, terwijl voorheen veel dieren zich verspreidden via nieuw gegraven waterwegen. Het aantal vondsten van exotische waterplanten lijkt niet zo sterk toe te nemen. De bron van deze nieuwkomers is meestal de handel in tuin(vijver)- of aquariumplanten. Veel exotische dieren en planten blijken succesvol te zijn in de Nederlandse wateren. Van het totale aantal waargenomen macrofauna-exoten is circa 27% algemeen tot zeer talrijk en afhankelijk van het watertype komt 13-35% tot dominantie in het systeem. Voor de waterplanten is circa 50% vrij tot zeer algemeen. De meeste soorten worden gevonden in beken, sloten, meren/plassen en kanalen. Het beleid op het gebied van exoten verschilt per waterschap. Vaak wordt er geen onderscheid gemaakt tussen inheemse plaagsoorten en invasieve exoten: beleid en beheer is over het algemeen geconcentreerd op veiligheid, waterkwantiteitsbeheersing, bescherming van de inheemse biodiversiteit en op het voorkómen van economische schade. Ee specifieke maatregel is het convenant waterplanten. Met de ondertekening hebben een aantal partijen afgesproken bepaalde soorten invasieve aquarium- en vijverplanten niet meer te verhandele

Evaluation of Clearview and Magic Lite tests, polymerase chain reaction, and cell culture for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urogenital specimens

The Clearview Chlamydia test (CV; Unipath Ltd., Bedford, United Kingdom), the Magic Lite Chlamydia test (ML; CIBA Corning, Medfield, Mass.), a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and cell culture (CC) were evaluated for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urogenital specimens. Specimens were collected from 283 men and 724 women visiting the outpatient clinic for Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the University Hospital Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. ML, PCR, and CC were all performed on the same sample to prevent swab-to-swab variability. CV was performed on a separate sample. Analysis of discordant results was performed by application of the following confirmatory assays: first, PCR on th

Distribution of endocrine cells in the gut of the impala (Aepyceros melampus)

Immunocytochemical methods were employed to demonstrate endocrine cells, containing peptides and serotonin, in the gut of the impala. Cells immunoreactive to serotonin, somatostatin, gastrin, cholecystokinin, glucagon, neurotensin, secretin, glucose-dependant insulinotropic peptide and motilin were detected. Antisera raised to substance P and pancreatic polypeptide failed to stain any cells. The distribution of these peptide-containing cells is more in line with the situation in sheep than other ruminants. In contrast, the distribution and abundance of serotonin cells in the gut of the impala parallels the situation seen in game herbivores.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat X Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

Functional variation in the arginine vasopressin 2 receptor as a modifier of human plasma von Willebrand factor levels\ud

Objectives: Stimulation of arginine vasopressin 2 receptor (V2R) with arginine vasopressin (AVP) results in a rise in von Willebrand factor (VWF) and factor VIII plasma levels. We hypothesized that gain-of-function variations in the V2R gene (AVPR2) would lead to higher plasma levels of VWF and FVIII. Methods and Results: We genotyped the control populations of two population-based studies for four AVPR2 variations: a-245c, G12E, L309L, and S331S. Rare alleles of a-245c, G12E, and S331S, which were in linkage disequilibrium, were associated with higher VWF propeptide, VWF and FVIII levels. The functionality of the G12E variant was studied in stably transfected MDCKII cells, expressing constructs of either 12G-V2R or 12E-V2R. Both V2R variants were fully glycosylated and expressed on the basolateral membrane. The binding affinity of V2R for AVP was increased three-fold in 12E-V2R–green fluorescent protein (GFP) cells, which is in accordance with increased levels of VWF propeptide associated with the 12E variant. The dissociation constant (KD) was 4.5 nm [95% confidence interval (CI) 3.6–5.4] for 12E-V2R–GFP and 16.5 nm (95% CI 10.1–22.9) for 12G-V2R–GFP. AVP-induced cAMP generation was enhanced in 12E-V2R–GFP cells. Conclusions: The 12E-V2R variant has increased binding affinity for AVP, resulting in increased signal transduction, and is associated with increased levels of VWF propeptide, VWF, and FVII

Added Predictive Value of Female-Specific Factors and Psychosocial Factors for the Risk of Stroke in Women Under 50

Background and Objectives: Female-specific factors and psychosocial factors may be important in the prediction of stroke but are not included in prediction models that are currently used. We investigated whether addition of these factors would improve the performance of prediction models for the risk of stroke in women younger than 50 years.Methods: We used data from the Stichting Informatievoorziening voor Zorg en Onderzoek, population-based, primary care database of women aged 20-49 years without a history of cardiovascular disease. Analyses were stratified by 10-year age intervals at cohort entry. Cox proportional hazards models to predict stroke risk were developed, including traditional cardiovascular factors, and compared with models that additionally included female-specific and psychosocial factors. We compared the risk models using the c-statistic and slope of the calibration curve at a follow-up of 10 years. We developed an age-specific stroke risk prediction tool that may help communicating the risk of stroke in clinical practice.Results: We included 409,026 women with a total of 3,990,185 person-years of follow-up. Stroke occurred in 2,751 women (incidence rate 6.9 [95% CI 6.6-7.2] per 10,000 person-years). Models with only traditional cardiovascular factors performed poorly to moderately in all age groups: 20-29 years: c-statistic: 0.617 (95% CI 0.592-0.639); 30-39 years: c-statistic: 0.615 (95% CI 0.596-0.634); and 40-49 years: c-statistic: 0.585 (95% CI 0.573-0.597). After adding the female-specific and psychosocial risk factors to the reference models, the model discrimination increased moderately, especially in the age groups 30-39 (Δc-statistic: 0.019) and 40-49 years (Δc-statistic: 0.029) compared with the reference models, respectively.Discussion: The addition of female-specific factors and psychosocial risk factors improves the discriminatory performance of prediction models for stroke in women younger than 50 years.</p

Added Predictive Value of Female-Specific Factors and Psychosocial Factors for the Risk of Stroke in Women Under 50

Background and Objectives: Female-specific factors and psychosocial factors may be important in the prediction of stroke but are not included in prediction models that are currently used. We investigated whether addition of these factors would improve the performance of prediction models for the risk of stroke in women younger than 50 years.Methods: We used data from the Stichting Informatievoorziening voor Zorg en Onderzoek, population-based, primary care database of women aged 20-49 years without a history of cardiovascular disease. Analyses were stratified by 10-year age intervals at cohort entry. Cox proportional hazards models to predict stroke risk were developed, including traditional cardiovascular factors, and compared with models that additionally included female-specific and psychosocial factors. We compared the risk models using the c-statistic and slope of the calibration curve at a follow-up of 10 years. We developed an age-specific stroke risk prediction tool that may help communicating the risk of stroke in clinical practice.Results: We included 409,026 women with a total of 3,990,185 person-years of follow-up. Stroke occurred in 2,751 women (incidence rate 6.9 [95% CI 6.6-7.2] per 10,000 person-years). Models with only traditional cardiovascular factors performed poorly to moderately in all age groups: 20-29 years: c-statistic: 0.617 (95% CI 0.592-0.639); 30-39 years: c-statistic: 0.615 (95% CI 0.596-0.634); and 40-49 years: c-statistic: 0.585 (95% CI 0.573-0.597). After adding the female-specific and psychosocial risk factors to the reference models, the model discrimination increased moderately, especially in the age groups 30-39 (Δc-statistic: 0.019) and 40-49 years (Δc-statistic: 0.029) compared with the reference models, respectively.Discussion: The addition of female-specific factors and psychosocial risk factors improves the discriminatory performance of prediction models for stroke in women younger than 50 years.</p

Added Predictive Value of Female-Specific Factors and Psychosocial Factors for the Risk of Stroke in Women Under 50

Background and Objectives: Female-specific factors and psychosocial factors may be important in the prediction of stroke but are not included in prediction models that are currently used. We investigated whether addition of these factors would improve the performance of prediction models for the risk of stroke in women younger than 50 years.Methods: We used data from the Stichting Informatievoorziening voor Zorg en Onderzoek, population-based, primary care database of women aged 20-49 years without a history of cardiovascular disease. Analyses were stratified by 10-year age intervals at cohort entry. Cox proportional hazards models to predict stroke risk were developed, including traditional cardiovascular factors, and compared with models that additionally included female-specific and psychosocial factors. We compared the risk models using the c-statistic and slope of the calibration curve at a follow-up of 10 years. We developed an age-specific stroke risk prediction tool that may help communicating the risk of stroke in clinical practice.Results: We included 409,026 women with a total of 3,990,185 person-years of follow-up. Stroke occurred in 2,751 women (incidence rate 6.9 [95% CI 6.6-7.2] per 10,000 person-years). Models with only traditional cardiovascular factors performed poorly to moderately in all age groups: 20-29 years: c-statistic: 0.617 (95% CI 0.592-0.639); 30-39 years: c-statistic: 0.615 (95% CI 0.596-0.634); and 40-49 years: c-statistic: 0.585 (95% CI 0.573-0.597). After adding the female-specific and psychosocial risk factors to the reference models, the model discrimination increased moderately, especially in the age groups 30-39 (Δc-statistic: 0.019) and 40-49 years (Δc-statistic: 0.029) compared with the reference models, respectively.Discussion: The addition of female-specific factors and psychosocial risk factors improves the discriminatory performance of prediction models for stroke in women younger than 50 years.</p