Lipid apheresis: oxidative stress, rheology, and vasodilatation

In the treatment of homozygous and therapy-resistant hypercholesterolemia, lipid apheresis enables not only low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol to be lowered by approximately 60%, but also oxidative stress factors to be influenced and adhesion molecules reduced. This was investigated in a group of 12 patients using the heparin-induced extracorporeal LDL precipitation (H.E.L.P.) procedure

Wat extremisten met elkaar en met de mainstream westerse maatschappij gemeen hebben

Jihadisme en rechts-extremisme in het Westen zijn geen ultieme anderen van elkaar noch van de maatschappij. Zij zijn in elk geval ten dele het product van laat-moderne samenlevingen en vertonen opvallende gelijkenissen met elkaar en de bredere samenleving. Ten aanzien van de ontologische onzekerheden in de laat-moderne samenleving biedt hun extremisme voorts een dubbele redding: zowel van hun gemeenschap als voor zichzelf.Security and Global Affair

Interfacial Electronic Charge Transfer and Density of States in Short Period Cu/Cr Multilayers

Nanometer period metallic multilayers are ideal structures to investigate electronic phenomena at interfaces between metal films since interfacial atoms comprise a large atomic fraction of the samples. The Cu/Cr binary pair is especially suited to study the interfaces in metals since these elements are mutually insoluble, thus eliminating mixing effects and compound formation and the lattice mismatch is very small. This allows the fabrication of high structural quality Cu/Cr multilayers that have a structure which can be approximated in calculations based on idealized atomic arrangements. The electronic structure of the Cu and the Cr layers in several samples of thin Cu/Cr multilayers were studied using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Total electron yield was measured and used to study the white lines at the Cu L{sub 2} and L{sub 3} absorption edges. The white lines at the Cu absorption edges are strongly related to the unoccupied d-orbitals and are used to calculate the amount of charge transfer between the Cr and Cu atoms in interfaces. Analysis of the Cu white lines show a charge transfer of 0.026 electrons/interfacial Cu atom to the interfacial Cr atoms. In the Cu XAS spectra we also observe a van Hove singularity between the L{sub 2} and L{sub 3} absorption edges as expected from the structural analysis. The absorption spectra are compared to partial density of states obtained from a full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital calculation. The calculations support the presence of charge transfer and indicate that it is localized to the first two interfacial layers in both Cu and Cr

Evaluating strategic environmental assessment in the Netherlands: Content, process and procedure as indissoluble criteria for effectiveness

To assess the effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) we distinguish between its contribution to the quality of the ultimate policy choice (usefulness, applicability), the procedural quality of the planning process (transparency, timeliness) and the quality of stakeholder participation in the planning process (openness, equity, dialogue). In the context of two case studies involving Dutch planning practice, we argue that when and how an SEA is applied is crucial to understanding its e

Physical activity monitoring in Europe : the European physical activity surveillance system (EUPASS) approach and indicator testing.

Objectives: The main objective of this paper is to describe the approach and specific findings of the European Physical Activity Surveillance System (EUPASS) research project. In particular, the analysis presented aims at testing the reliability, comparability and predictive power of different sets of physical activity (PA) indicators. Design: First, a panel study based on computer-aided telephone interview (CATI) was designed to report PA data of a representative, selected group of about 100 persons per country at three points in time. Second, a CATI time series survey was carried out with the goal of realising about 100 interviews per month over six consecutive months. Setting: The project was carried out in eight European countries to support the development of the European Union's (EU) Health Monitoring Programme. Subjects: Random population samples (subjects aged 18 years and older) were drawn from each participating country. Results: While many PA indicators used in EU countries to date as well as the psychosocial and environmental measures tested in the present study had acceptable to good reliability coefficients, the test–retest reliability scores of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) version tested (the short (last 7 days) telephone interview IPAQ; IPAQ-S7T) were rather low. The comparability between extant national PA items and the IPAQ-S7T was low for all countries. The strongest predictors of perceived health were the psychosocial and environmental PA indicators. Conclusions: According to the results of the present study, more research is needed to further investigate and improve the quality of the IPAQ. In addition, the specific predictive power of the tested psychosocial and environmental PA indicators on perceived health should be of particular interest for designing health surveillance activities in the future

Growth of Preterm and Full-Term Children Aged 0-4 Years:Integrating Median Growth and Variability in Growth Charts

Objectives To assess the distribution of height, weight, and head circumference (HC) in preterm infants for ages 0-4 years, by gestational age (GA) and sex, and to construct growth reference charts for preterm-born children, again by GA and sex, for monitoring growth in clinical practice. Study design The community-based cohort study covered a quarter of The Netherlands. 1690 preterm infants (GA, 25-35(+6) weeks) and a random sample of 634 full-term control infants (GA 38-41(+6)), who were followed from birth to 4 years of age. Height, weight, and HC were regularly assessed during routine well-child visits and data were retrospectively collected. Results At all ages, the median height and weight of preterm children were lower compared with full-term children. Growth depended on the child's GA. Increase in HC showed an early catch-up and was similar to full-term children by the age of 1. Height, weight, and HC were more variable in boys, particularly in the very preterm children. Conclusions At 0 to 4 years, the growth of preterm children differed from that of full-term children and depended on their GA. The greater variability of growth in boys suggests that they are more vulnerable to the complications of preterm birth that influence growth. These growth charts are the most precise tools currently available for monitoring growth in preterm children. (J Pediatr 2012;161:460-5)

Imputation of missing values of tumour stage in population-based cancer registration

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Missing data on tumour stage information is a common problem in population-based cancer registries. Statistical analyses on the level of tumour stage may be biased, if no adequate method for handling of missing data is applied. In order to determine a useful way to treat missing data on tumour stage, we examined different imputation models for multiple imputation with chained equations for analysing the stage-specific numbers of cases of malignant melanoma and female breast cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This analysis was based on the malignant melanoma data set and the female breast cancer data set of the cancer registry Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The cases with complete tumour stage information were extracted and their stage information partly removed according to a MAR missingness-pattern, resulting in five simulated data sets for each cancer entity. The missing tumour stage values were then treated with multiple imputation with chained equations, using polytomous regression, predictive mean matching, random forests and proportional sampling as imputation models. The estimated tumour stages, stage-specific numbers of cases and survival curves after multiple imputation were compared to the observed ones.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The amount of missing values for malignant melanoma was too high to estimate a reasonable number of cases for each UICC stage. However, multiple imputation of missing stage values led to stage-specific numbers of cases of T-stage for malignant melanoma as well as T- and UICC-stage for breast cancer close to the observed numbers of cases. The observed tumour stages on the individual level, the stage-specific numbers of cases and the observed survival curves were best met with polytomous regression or predictive mean matching but not with random forest or proportional sampling as imputation models.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This limited simulation study indicates that multiple imputation with chained equations is an appropriate technique for dealing with missing information on tumour stage in population-based cancer registries, if the amount of unstaged cases is on a reasonable level.</p

Bacterial cholangitis causing secondary sclerosing cholangitis: A case report

BACKGROUND: Although bacterial cholangitis is frequently mentioned as a cause of secondary sclerosing cholangitis, it appears to be extremely rare, with only one documented case ever reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 48-year-old woman presented with an episode of acute biliary pancreatitis that was complicated by pancreatic abcess formation. After 3 months she had an episode of severe pyogenic (E. Coli) cholangitis that recurred over the subsequent 7 months on a further two occasions. Initially, cholangiography suggested the presence of extra-biliary intrahepatic abcesses while repeated investigations demonstrated development of multiple segmental biliary duct strictures. After maintenance antibiotic treatment was started, no episodes of cholangitis occurred over a 14-month period. CONCLUSIONS: Sclerosing cholangitis can rapidly develop after an episode of bacterial cholangitis. Extra-biliary involvement of the hepatic parenchyma with abcess formation may be a risk factor for developing this rare but particularly severe complication