Fortuitous structure determination of ‘as-isolated’ Escherichia coli bacterioferritin in a novel crystal form

E. coli bacterioferritin was crystallized in a novel crystal form from different conditions and the structure was solved. The crystals belonged to space group P213 and diffracted to a resolution of 2.5 Å

Development and validation of the General Procrastination Scale (GPS-9): A short and reliable measure of trait procrastination

Trait procrastination is increasingly recognised as having relevance for a number of consequential outcomes, including health. However, research with clinical populations may be hindered by longer scales. The present research addresses this issue by developing and validating a short version of Lay's General Procrastination Scale (GPS), a widely used self-report measure of trait procrastination. Study 1 used factor analysis to reduce the 20-item GPS to 9 items across two large samples (N = 620, N = 920). In Study 2 the GPS-9 demonstrated very good internal consistency across 15 student, adult and chronic illness samples, with a meta-analysis of coefficient alpha finding an average reliability coefficient of 0.89 (Total N = 4492). The GPS-9 also demonstrated good test-retest reliability (r = 0.89), and the expected associations with variables known to be part of the nomological network of trait procrastination. Findings from the current research provide evidence that the GPS-9 is a brief, valid, and reliable measure of trait procrastination

Robert Roe's (944-2016) temporalism: A commentary

Dit artikel is geschreven ter nagedachtenis aan Robert Roe (1944-2016) en bevat een commentaar op zijn laatste contributie aan Gedrag & Organisatie, 'Op weg naar temporeel onderzoek: issues, tips en de tijdscoop als nieuw instrument', die eveneens in deze aflevering gepubliceerd is. We gaan in op de uitdagingen waarvoor temporeel onderzoek momenteel staat en geven een aantal suggesties hiervoor. Daarnaast gaan wij in op wat naar onze mening houdbare en onhoudbare vormen van temporalisme zijn. Houdbaar temporalisme uit zich in het consequent doorvoeren van temporele assumpties in alle aspecten van de methodologie. Temporalisme is houdbaar als het verbinding weet te leggen met het differentiële paradigma en nabijgelegen onderzoekstradities en als het erin slaagt de intersubjectieve gemeenschappelijkheid van verandering bloot te leggen. Wij staan stil bij Robert Roe's tijdscoop en zijn methodologische begrippen waarachtigheid en betekenisvolheid en laten zien welke centrale rol theorie in dit alles speelt. Ten slotte komen wij met suggesties aangaande hoe temporele theorievorming meer armslag kan krijge

Robert Roe's (944-2016) temporalism: A commentary

Dit artikel is geschreven ter nagedachtenis aan Robert Roe (1944-2016) en bevat een commentaar op zijn laatste contributie aan Gedrag & Organisatie, 'Op weg naar temporeel onderzoek: issues, tips en de tijdscoop als nieuw instrument', die eveneens in deze aflevering gepubliceerd is. We gaan in op de uitdagingen waarvoor temporeel onderzoek momenteel staat en geven een aantal suggesties hiervoor. Daarnaast gaan wij in op wat naar onze mening houdbare en onhoudbare vormen van temporalisme zijn. Houdbaar temporalisme uit zich in het consequent doorvoeren van temporele assumpties in alle aspecten van de methodologie. Temporalisme is houdbaar als het verbinding weet te leggen met het differentiële paradigma en nabijgelegen onderzoekstradities en als het erin slaagt de intersubjectieve gemeenschappelijkheid van verandering bloot te leggen. Wij staan stil bij Robert Roe's tijdscoop en zijn methodologische begrippen waarachtigheid en betekenisvolheid en laten zien welke centrale rol theorie in dit alles speelt. Ten slotte komen wij met suggesties aangaande hoe temporele theorievorming meer armslag kan krijge

Pregnancy in Advanced Kidney Disease:Clinical Practice Considerations on a Challenging Combination

Background:Thanks to the advances in care, pregnancy is now attainable for the majority of young female CKD patients, although it is still a high-risk endeavor. Clinical decision-making in these cases is impacted by a myriad of factors, making (pre)pregnancy counseling a complex process. The complexities, further impacted by limited data and unknown risks regarding outcome, can cause discussions when deciding on the best care for a specific patient. Objectives:In this article, we provide an overview of the considerations and dilemmas we encounter in preconception counseling and offer our perspective on how to deal with them in daily clinical practice. Methods:The main topics we discuss in our counseling are (1) the high risk of pregnancy complications, (2) the risk of permanent CKD deterioration due to pregnancy and subsequent decreased life expectancy, (3) appropriate changes in renal medication, and (4) assisted reproduction, genetic testing, and prenatal or preimplantation genetic diagnostics. Results and Conclusions:In our clinic, we openly address moral dilemmas arising in clinical practice in pregnancy and CKD, both within the physician team and with the patient. We do this by ensuring an interpretive physician-patient interaction and shared decision-making, deliberating in a multidisciplinary setting and, if needed, with input from an expert committee

Atrial fibrillation: trends in prevalence and antithrombotic prescriptions in the community

Introduction: In the past decade, the atrial fibrillation (AF) landscape, including the treatment modalities, has drastically changed. This raises the question how AF prevalence and choices in antithrombotic therapy prescription have developed in the community over time. Methods: Routine care data from the Julius General Practitioners’ Network (JGPN) were used to calculate the yearly prevalence of AF and to quantify the percentage of all patients who were prescribed a platelet inhibitor, vitamin K antagonist (VKA), non-VKA oral anticoagulant (NOAC) or no antithrombotic medication. To explore whether certain patient characteristics are associated with selective prescription of oral anticoagulants (OAC), we applied logistic regression analyses. Results: From 2008 through 2017, the JGPN database included 7459 unique AF patients. During this period, the prevalence of AF increased from 0.4% to 1.4%. The percentage of patients prescribed a VKA declined from 47% to 41%, whereas the percentage of patients prescribed a NOAC rose from 0% to 20%. In patients with new-onset AF, older age, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, vascular disease and dementia were independently associated with a higher likelihood of VKA rather than NOAC prescription. In 2017, 25% of all patients with AF and a CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥ 2 were not prescribed OAC therapy (i.e. 8% with platelet inhibitor monotherapy and 17% without any antithrombotic therapy). Conclusion: Between 2008 and 2017, AF prevalence in the community more than tripled. Prescription patterns showed possible ‘channelling’ of VKAs over NOACs in frailer, elderly patients, whereas still about one in every four AF patients with a CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥ 2 was not prescribed any prophylactic OAC therapy