Negative illness perceptions are related to poorer health‐related quality of life among thyroid cancer survivors:Results from the PROFILES registry

Background Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) reports a poorer health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) than a norm population. Patients' illness perceptions are modifiable and known associates of HRQoL in other cancers. The aim was to examine the relationship between illness perceptions and HRQoL among DTC survivors. Methods DTC survivors registered in the Netherlands Cancer Registry diagnosed between 1990 and 2008, received a survey on illness perceptions (Brief‐Illness Perception Questionnaire; B‐IPQ) and HRQoL (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Quality of Life Questionnaire‐Core 30; EORTC QLQ‐C30). Multiple regression analyses were conducted investigating the relation between illness perceptions and HRQoL, while controlling for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Results Two hundred and eighty‐four DTC survivors were included. DTC survivors who believed their illness had many negative consequences; who perceived their illness as controllable by treatment; who had strong beliefs symptoms could be attributed to their illness; and who had strong beliefs their illness causes negative emotions, reported a poorer HRQoL. Conclusions Stronger negative illness perceptions are related to a poorer HRQoL among DTC survivors

Засади та історія становлення соціального вчення Українського католицизму

In equine medicine the use of Botox® is experimental. Dosages are determined from human treatment-protocols and limited numbers of equine studies. Determination of target-muscle volume can be helpful to extrapolate human dosages. The aim of the study was to calculate a formula enabling the estimation of the deep digital flexor muscle (DDFM) volume based on distances between anatomical landmarks. Nineteen cadaveric limbs were collected and distance A (top of olecranon to Os carpi accessorium) and B (circumference of limb) were measured. Converting mathematical formulas, C was calculated: π × (((0.5B)/π)(2)) × A. DDFM volume was determined by water displacement. Linear Regression Analysis was used to analyse data. The line best fitting the observed points was: Ln(volume[ml]) = -1.89 + 0.98 × Ln(value C[cm(3)]). Correlation was highest when natural logarithm was applied to both variables and was 0.97. The calculated formula enables estimating DDFM volume of a living horse. This estimated volume can be useful to apply human Botox® treatment-protocols

Spectral quantification of nonlinear behaviour of the nearshore seabed and correlations with potential forcings at Duck, N.C., U.S.A

Local bathymetric quasi-periodic patterns of oscillation are identified from monthly profile surveys taken at two shore-perpendicular transects at the USACE field research facility in Duck, North Carolina, USA, spanning 24.5 years and covering the swash and surf zones. The chosen transects are the two furthest (north and south) from the pier located at the study site. Research at Duck has traditionally focused on one or more of these transects as the effects of the pier are least at these locations. The patterns are identified using singular spectrum analysis (SSA). Possible correlations with potential forcing mechanisms are discussed by 1) doing an SSA with same parameter settings to independently identify the quasi-periodic cycles embedded within three potentially linked sequences: monthly wave heights (MWH), monthly mean water levels (MWL) and the large scale atmospheric index known as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and 2) comparing the patterns within MWH, MWL and NAO to the local bathymetric patterns. The results agree well with previous patterns identified using wavelets and confirm the highly nonstationary behaviour of beach levels at Duck; the discussion of potential correlations with hydrodynamic and atmospheric phenomena is a new contribution. The study is then extended to all measured bathymetric profiles, covering an area of 1100m (alongshore) by 440m (cross-shore), to 1) analyse linear correlations between the bathymetry and the potential forcings using multivariate empirical orthogonal functions (MEOF) and linear correlation analysis and 2) identify which collective quasi-periodic bathymetric patterns are correlated with those within MWH, MWL or NAO, based on a (nonlinear) multichannel singular spectrum analysis (MSSA). (...continued in submitted paper)Comment: 50 pages, 3 tables, 8 figure

State of the art of aeolian and dune research on the Dutch and Belgian coast

Five years ago, at the previous anniversary of the NCK days, an overview was presented of the state of the art of “Measuring and modelling coastal dune development in the Netherlands” (De Groot et al., 2012). At that moment, new coastal-dune research had sprung up in the Netherlands after a relatively quiet period of about two decades, and the individual research projects were just starting to interconnect. Since then, research has blossomed. A large number of PhD students, postdocs and staff of many institutes are involved, and coastal aeolian processes have become a permanent topic of recent NCK days. Young researchers are meeting a couple of times per year to discuss their work informally, and several PhD theses were defended

Automated mapping of the intertidal beach bathymetry from video images

This paper presents a fully automated procedure to derive the intertidal beach bathymetry on a daily basis from video images of low-sloping beaches that are characterised by the intermittent emergence of intertidal bars. Bathymetry data are obtained by automated and repeated mapping of shorelines from video time exposure images for different (tidal) water levels (Aarninkhof, S.G.J., Turner, I.L., Dronkers, T.D.T., Caljouw, M., Nipius, L., 2003. A video-based technique for mapping intertidal beach bathymetry. Coastal Engineering 49, 275–289; Plant, N.G. and Holman, R.A., 1997. Intertidal beach profile estimation using video images. Marine Geology 140, 1–24.). The developed procedure handles intelligent selection of a shoreline search area and unsupervised quality control of the obtained bathymetry data. The automatically retrieved beach bathymetries compare very well to bathymetries derived from the original manual mapping procedure and to ground truth data points (DGPS)