Impact of the Coronavirus on Providing Oral Health Care in the Netherlands

OBJECTIVE: Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during oral health care is potentially increased compared to regular social activities. Specific amendments to the Dutch national infection control guidelines were promulgated. This study aimed to map the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on providing oral health care during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 in the Netherlands. METHODS: A cross-sectional web-based survey was sent via email to a representative sample of dental hygienists and dentists in the Netherlands. RESULTS: Of the 1,700 oral health care practitioners approached, 440 (25.9%) responded to the survey. Patient access to oral health care was severely restricted during the lockdown in the Spring of 2020. A total of 1.6% of the oral health care practitioners had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 during the study period, although this is likely to be an underrepresentation due to limited access to testing. Over half of the participants perceived an increased risk of virus transmission during aerosol-generating treatments in their practices. A large majority (65.0 – 87.1%) of the oral health care practitioners followed the COVID-19-specific amendments to the national infection control guidelines. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, additional personal protective equipment and protocols were applied. Factors related with compliance with the additional recommendations were age, employment status and occupation. CONCLUSIONS: The pandemic had a profound impact on both the accessibility and practice of oral health care. This survey study found that most Dutch oral health care practitioners paid extra attention to hygiene and infection control. Also, a low number of COVID-19 infections detected amongst Dutch oral health care practitioners was reported in the Netherlands. These overall outcomes suggest that safe oral health care can be provided when following the current infection control recommendations

Mifepristone treatment during early adolescence fails to restore maternal deprivation-induced deficits in behavioral inhibition of adult male rats

Development Psychopathology in context: famil

Maternal care of heterozygous dopamine receptor D4 knockout mice: Differential susceptibility to early-life rearing conditions

The differential susceptibility hypothesis proposes that individuals who are more susceptible to the negative effects of adverse rearing conditions may also benefit more from enriched environments. Evidence derived from human experiments suggests the lower efficacy dopamine receptor D4 (D

Effects of maternal deprivation and complex housing on rat social behavior in adolescence and adulthood

Early life context and stressful experiences are known to increase the risk of developing psychiatric disorders later in life, including disorders with deficits in the social domain. Our study aimed to investigate the influence of early life environment on social behavior in a well-controlled animal model. To this end we tested the effects of maternal deprivation (MD) on rat social play behavior in adolescence and social interaction in adulthood. Additionally, we provided a stimulating environment during adolescence (complex housing) as a potential intervention to diminish the effects of early life stress. Male and female Wistar rats were deprived from their mother for 24 h on postnatal day 3 (PND 3) or were left undisturbed. Complex housing started 5 days after weaning and consisted of housing 10 same-sex conspecifics in large, two-floor MarlauTM cages until the end of the study. Social play behavior in adolescence was tested under different conditions (3 h vs. 24 h social isolation prior to testing). Maternally deprived males - but not females - showed a longer latency to play and a decreased total amount of social play behavior, after a 24 h isolation period. In adulthood, social discrimination was impaired in deprived male and female rats in the three-chamber social approach task. Complex housing did not moderate the effects of MD, but in itself induced a strong behavioral phenotype. Both complex housed males and females hardly displayed any play behavior after a 3 h isolation period. However, after 24 h of isolation, these animals showed shorter latencies to engage in social play behavior. Only complex housed males truly showed more social play behavior here, while showing less social interest in adulthood. We conclude that MD has mild negative effects on social behavior in adolescence and adulthood, which are not counteracted by complex housing. Complex housing induces a specific phenotype associated with rapid habituation; a lack of social play after short isolation periods, while increasing play behavior after a prolonged period of isolation in adolescence, and less social interest, paired with intact social discrimination in adulthood. In both early life settings, males seem to be more influenced by the early life environment compared to females

Proteomic landscapes of inherited platelet disorders with different etiologies

BackgroundInherited platelet disorders (IPDs) are a heterogeneous group of rare diseases that are caused by the defects in early megakaryopoiesis, proplatelet formation, and/or mature platelet function. Although genomic sequencing is increasingly used to identify genetic variants underlying IPD, this technique does not disclose resulting molecular changes that impact platelet function. Proteins are the functional units that shape platelet function; however, insights into how variants that cause IPDs impact platelet proteomes are limited.ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to profile the platelet proteomics signatures of IPDs.MethodsWe performed unbiased label-free quantitative mass spectrometry (MS)–based proteome profiling on platelets of 34 patients with IPDs with variants in 13 ISTH TIER1 genes that affect different stages of platelet development.ResultsIn line with the phenotypical heterogeneity between IPDs, proteomes were diverse between IPDs. We observed extensive proteomic alterations in patients with a GFI1B variant and for genetic variants in genes encoding proteins that impact cytoskeletal processes (MYH9, TUBB1, and WAS). Using the diversity between IPDs, we clustered protein dynamics, revealing disrupted protein-protein complexes. This analysis furthermore grouped proteins with similar cellular function and location, classifying mitochondrial protein constituents and identifying both known and putative novel alpha granule associated proteins.ConclusionsWith this study, we demonstrate a MS–based proteomics perspective to IPDs. By integrating the effects of IPDs that impact different aspects of platelet function, we dissected the biological contexts of protein alterations to gain further insights into the biology of platelet (dys)function.Immunobiology of allogeneic stem cell transplantation and immunotherapy of hematological disease

The FOAM study : Is Hysterosalpingo foam sonography (HyFoSy) a cost-effective alternative for hysterosalpingography (HSG) in assessing tubal patency in subfertile women? Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

This is an investigator initiated trial, VU medical center Amsterdam is the sponsor, contact information: prof. CJM de Groot, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tel: + 31-204444444. This study is funded by ZonMw, a Dutch organization for Health Research and Development, project number 837001504. ZonMW gives financial support for the whole project. IQ Medical Ventures provides the ExEm FOAM® kits. The funding bodies have no role in the design of the study; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and in writing the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Instability, Intermixing and Electronic Structure at the Epitaxial LaAlO3/SrTiO3(001) Heterojunction

The question of stability against diffusional mixing at the prototypical LaAlO3/SrTiO3(001) interface is explored using a multi-faceted experimental and theoretical approach. We combine analytical methods with a range of sensitivities to elemental concentrations and spatial separations to investigate interfaces grown using on-axis pulsed laser deposition. We also employ computational modeling based on the density function theory as well as classical force fields to explore the energetic stability of a wide variety of intermixed atomic configurations relative to the idealized, atomically abrupt model. Statistical analysis of the calculated energies for the various configurations is used to elucidate the relative thermodynamic stability of intermixed and abrupt configurations. We find that on both experimental and theoretical fronts, the tendency toward intermixing is very strong. We have also measured and calculated key electronic properties such as the presence of electric fields and the value of the valence band discontinuity at the interface. We find no measurable electric field in either the LaAlO3 or SrTiO3, and that the valence band offset is near zero, partitioning the band discontinuity almost entirely to the conduction band edge. Moreover, we find that it is not possible to account for these electronic properties theoretically without including extensive intermixing in our physical model of the interface. The atomic configurations which give the greatest electrostatic stability are those that eliminate the interface dipole by intermixing, calling into question the conventional explanation for conductivity at this interface - electronic reconstruction. Rather, evidence is presented for La indiffusion and doping of the SrTiO3 below the interface as being the cause of the observed conductivity