Variability in the interpretation of probability phrases used in Dutch news articles — a risk for miscommunication

Analysis and Stochastic

The effects of once- versus twice-weekly sessions on psychotherapy outcomes in depressed patients

Background It is unclear what session frequency is most effective in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for depression.Aims Compare the effects of once weekly and twice weekly sessions of CBT and IPT for depression.Method We conducted a multicentre randomised trial from November 2014 through December 2017. We recruited 200 adults with depression across nine specialised mental health centres in the Netherlands. This study used a 2 × 2 factorial design, randomising patients to once or twice weekly sessions of CBT or IPT over 16-24 weeks, up to a maximum of 20 sessions. Main outcome measures were depression severity, measured with the Beck Depression Inventory-II at baseline, before session 1, and 2 weeks, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 months after start of the intervention. Intention-to-treat analyses were conducted.Results Compared with patients who received weekly sessions, patients who received twice weekly sessions showed a statistically significant decrease in depressive symptoms (estimated mean difference between weekly and twice weekly sessions at month 6: 3.85 points, difference in effect size d = 0.55), lower attrition rates (n = 16 compared with n = 32) and an increased rate of response (hazard ratio 1.48, 95% CI 1.00-2.18).Conclusions In clinical practice settings, delivery of twice weekly sessions of CBT and IPT for depression is a way to improve depression treatment outcomes

Ontwerp en opmaak

Optimaal plannen van onderhoudstaken voor windmolenparken op zee | Albert H. Schrotenboer 20 Paul de Octopus 2.0; hoe we met statistiek en machine-learning het WK voetbal probeerden te voorspellen | Hans Van Eetvelde & Christophe Ley 24 De afdeling als atelier; het ontwerpen van zorg | Bob van Limburg 30 Is de Nederlandse lotto wel vernieuwend genoeg?column | Henk Tijms 34 De apologie voorbij; kansrekening en het feilbare denken | Richard Starmans 40 De opa van Robbert Dijkgraaf-column | Gerard Sierksma 42 Turning the tide; getijdenenergie veelbelovend voor het Britse energienetwerk | Lotte Konings 46 Lean Six Sigma-pionier Ronald Does wint Shewhart Medal | Bendert Zevenbergen 48 Young Statisticians are looking for a new board member STAtOR Jaargang 20, nummer 1, maart 2019 STAtOR is een uitgave van de Vereniging voor Statistiek en Operations Research (VVSOR). STAtOR wil leden, bedrijven en overige geïnteresseerden op de hoogte houden van ontwikkelingen en nieuws over toepassingen van statistiek en operations research. Verschijnt 4 keer per jaar

Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) Are Natural Hosts of Specific Staphylococcus aureus Lineages

Currently, there is no animal model known that mimics natural nasal colonization by Staphylococcus aureus in humans. We investigated whether rhesus macaques are natural nasal carriers of S. aureus. Nasal swabs were taken from 731 macaques. S. aureus isolates were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), spa repeat sequencing and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), and compared with human strains. Furthermore, the isolates were characterized by several PCRs. Thirty-nine percent of 731 macaques were positive for S. aureus. In general, the macaque S. aureus isolates differed from human strains as they formed separate PFGE clusters, 50% of the isolates were untypeable by agr genotyping, 17 new spa types were identified, which all belonged to new sequence types (STs). Furthermore, 66% of macaque isolates were negative for all superantigen genes. To determine S. aureus nasal colonization, three nasal swabs from 48 duo-housed macaques were taken during a 5 month period. In addition, sera were analyzed for immunoglobulin G and A levels directed against 40 staphylococcal proteins using a bead-based flow cytometry technique. Nineteen percent of the animals were negative for S. aureus, and 17% were three times positive. S. aureus strains were easily exchanged between macaques. The antibody response was less pronounced in macaques compared to humans, and nasal carrier status was not associated with differences in serum anti-staphylococcal antibody levels. In conclusion, rhesus macaques are natural hosts of S. aureus, carrying host-specific lineages. Our data indicate that rhesus macaques are useful as an autologous model for studying S. aureus nasal colonization and infection prevention

Using factchecks to combat misleading graphs

Note: - paper was published: Wijnker, W., Smeets, I., Burger, P. and Willems, S. (2022). Debunking strategies for misleading bar charts JCOM 21(07), A07. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.21070207 - data and code are available via: 10.17026/dans-zt5-qg5

Target Identification in Neovascularization

According the latest factsheets of the world health organization, cardiovascular disease remains a major burden for western society. Due to an aging population and an unhealthy lifestyle, cardiovascular disease morbidity numbers are still increasing. The incidence is especially high amongst patients with vascular occlusive disease, secondary to atherosclerosis. Due to atherosclerotic plaque progression (stenosis or plaque rupture) blood flow to organs downstream of the occlusion is reduced to such extent that organ failure or even death might follow. Consequently, finding novel therapeutic opportunities is still of interest. One possible alternative is the stimulation of new vessel growth also referred to as neovascularization. The two most prominent processes of neovascularization are angiogenesis and arteriogenesis (collateral vessel growth). An inflammatory environment has been shown essential for the growth of new vessels. This explains why previous targets found to stimulate neovascularization were mainly inflammatory mediators. The emphasis of this thesis is put on the search for new targets. First of all, we focused on different aspects of the IL-33/ST2 pathway, a fairly new pathway involved in many inflammatory processes. Secondary we concentrated on the mast cell and its role in intraplaque angiogenesis. Mast cells are particularly known for their role in allergy, but are also implicated in many inflammatory processes, amongst others atherosclerosis

Citizens’ attitudes and knowledge of quantum science and technology

Preprint article with data and data analyses files

Preprint: Citizens’ attitudes and knowledge of quantum science and technology

Technology experts, industry leaders, and policy makers expect that a revolution in quantum technology is imminent. From earlier emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, it has become clear that an early connection with the public is beneficial for the societal impact of the technology. However, little research has yet been done on public attitudes and knowledge of quantum science and technology. In this work, we quantitatively measure the attitude of N = 145 citizens of Leiden (NL) towards quantum science and technology and probe their knowledge on quantum concepts. Results indicate that these citizens have heard about 'quantum' through a wide variety of sources. They see quantum as globally important and admirable and most would like to learn more about quantum, but they do feel disconnected from developments in the field. Recommendations for the future include emphasising any personal connections between citizens and quantum, adapting explanations to fit any level of education, and providing either reliable sources or a framework for critically evaluating quantum-related information