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Background: Hospital admission during pregnancy complications is considered to be an event of significant impact. Besides conventional in-clinic maternal and fetal monitoring, recent technologies enable home-based telemonitoring with self-measurements in high risk pregnancy. This study is part of a feasibility pilot to explore the usability and acceptability of telemonitoring and aims to gain insight in the experiences and preferences of high risk pregnant women concerning the novel strategy of telemonitoring, opposed to women who were hospitalized in pregnancy.Methods: Using secured Facebook Groups, we conducted four online focus groups: two focus groups with women who were admitted during pregnancy (n = 11) and two with women who received home telemonitoring in the pilot phase (n = 11). The qualitative data were analyzed thematically.Results: Four major themes emerged from both participant groups: [1] care experience, [2] emotions regarding pregnancy, [3] privacy and [4] impact on daily life. Different views were reported on all four themes, resulting in a direct comparison of experiences during hospitalization and telemonitoring. Most admitted patients reported a growing sense of boredom and anxiety during their clinical admission. Lack of privacy on ward was a great concern, as it affected their contact with hospital staff and family. This issue was not reported amongst telemonitored women. These participants still felt like a patient at times but responded that the comfort of their own home and bed was pleasant. Only a minority of telemonitored participants reported being anxious at times at home, while not having a physician or nurse nearby. Being at home resulted in less travel time for partners or family for hospital visits, which had its positive effects on family life.Conclusions: Telemonitoring of a high-risk pregnancy provides an innovative manner to monitor fetal and maternal condition from home. Compared to the experiences of hospital admission in high risk pregnancy, it allows women to be in a comforting and private environment during an anxious time in their lives. As future studies should further investigate the safety and cost effectiveness of this novel strategy, women's views on the preference of telemonitoring need to be taken into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although atopic dermatitis (AD) is a very common skin disease, data on the percentage of patients with really difficult-to-treat AD are scarce. From socio-economic perspective, it is important to have more insight into these numbers, as new very effective, but expensive, treatment options will be available in the near future for difficult-to-treat AD. Estimating the number of patients with AD using oral immunosuppressive drugs can give an impression of the percentage of difficult-to-treat patients in the total AD population. Objective To give an overview of the use of oral immunosuppressive drugs in patients with AD in the Netherlands. Methods Prescription data of oral immunosuppressive drugs in the Netherlands were extracted from a pharmaceutical database (NControl) containing data of 557 million prescriptions and 7.2 million patients. An algorithm, based on the WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) codes, was used to identify patients with AD. The prescription of oral immunosuppressive drugs in patients with AD between 1 January 2012 and 1 January 2017 was evaluated. Results Based on the algorithm, 65 943 patients with AD were selected. 943 patients with AD (1.4%) used cyclosporine A, methotrexate, azathioprine or mycophenolic acid. Methotrexate was most commonly used, followed by azathioprine and cyclosporine A. A switch in medication was rarely seen. In the evaluation period, a decrease in the prescription of cyclosporine A was seen, together with an increase in the prescription of methotrexate. In 31% of the patients who stopped treatment, the discontinuation took place within the first months of treatment. Conclusion In this study population, 1.4% of the patients with AD used oral immunosuppressive drugs for their eczema in a 5-year period. Methotrexate was the most commonly used systemic drug in the Netherlands for the treatment of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which determined the diffusion length in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) using the surface photovoltage (SVP) technique. Characteristics of the SPV; Diffusion equation used in obtaining the diffusion length in crystalline semiconductors; Details on the equation for a-Si:H; Description of the difference between the hole drift mobility and electron drift mobility.

This paper presents an ultra-low power 2.4 GHz FSK/PSK RX for wireless personal/body area networks. A single-channel phase-tracking RX based on a sliding-IF phase-to-digital conversion (SIF-PDC) loop is proposed to directly demodulate and digitize the frequency/phase-modulated information. The sliding-IF frequency plan reduces the power consumption of the multi-phase LO generation. A phase rotator is adopted in SIF-PDC to guarantee frequency stability, i.e., avoid the frequency pulling by interference or frequency drift. It equivalently transforms the RF signal processing from the I/Q amplitude domain to a digital-phase domain, which saves up to nearly 40% on power consumption and relaxes the digital baseband complexity. A phase-domain linear model of the proposed SIF-PDC is presented to analyze the frequency response. Fabricated in a 90 nm CMOS technology, the presented RX consumes 2.4 mW at 2 Mbps data rate, i.e., 1.2 nJ/b efficiency, and achieves a sensitivity of –92 dBm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study theorems giving sufficient conditions on the vertex degrees of a graph G to guarantee G is t-tough. We first give a best monotone theorem when [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The xanthine oxidase inhibitors allopurinol and oxypurinol are used to treat hyperuricaemia, whereas loop and thiazide diuretics can cause iatrogenic hyperuricaemia. Some uricosuric drugs and salicylate have a bimodal action on urate renal excretion. The mechanisms of action of these hypo- and hyperuricaemic drugs on the handling of urate in renal tubules have not been fully elucidated. Recently, we identified the multidrug resistance protein (MRP) 4 as a luminal efflux transporter for urate in the proximal tubule.Experimental Approach: Here, we studied the effect of these drugs on [(14)C]urate transport using human embryonic kidney 293 cells overexpressing human MRP4 and in membrane vesicles isolated from these cells.Key Results: Allopurinol stimulated MRP4-mediated cellular urate efflux and allopurinol and oxypurinol both markedly stimulated urate transport by MRP4 in membrane vesicles. Bumetanide and torasemide had no effect, whereas furosemide, chlorothiazide, hydrochlorothiazide, salicylate, benzbromarone and sulfinpyrazone inhibited urate transport, at concentrations ranging from nanomolar up to millimolar. Probenecid stimulated urate transport at 0.1 microM and inhibited transport at higher concentrations.Conclusions and Implications: These data suggest that inhibition of MRP4-mediated urate efflux by furosemide and thiazide diuretics could have an important function in their hyperuricaemic mechanisms. Furthermore, stimulation of MRP4-mediated renal urate efflux could be a new mechanism in the hypouricaemic action of allopurinol and oxypurinol. In conclusion, MRP4 may provide a potential target for drugs affecting urate homoeostasis, which needs to be further evaluated in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased physical activity and decreased motivation to eat are common features in anorexia nervosa. We investigated the development of these features and the potential implication of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and dopaminergic signalling in their development in C57BL/6J and A/J inbred mice, using the ‘activity-based anorexia’ model. In this model, mice on a restricted-feeding schedule are given unlimited access to running wheels. We measured dopamine receptor D2 and BDNF expression levels in the caudate putamen and the hippocampus, respectively, using in situ hybridization. We found that in response to scheduled feeding, C57BL/6J mice reduced their running wheel activity and displayed food anticipatory activity prior to food intake from day 2 of scheduled feeding as an indication of motivation to eat. In contrast, A/J mice increased running wheel activity during scheduled feeding and lacked food anticipatory activity. These were accompanied by increased dopamine receptor D2 expression in the caudate putamen and reduced BDNF expression in the hippocampus. Consistent with human linkage and association studies on BDNF and dopamine receptor D2 in anorexia nervosa, our study shows that dopaminergic and BDNF signalling are altered as a function of susceptibility to activity-based anorexia. Differences in gene expression and behaviour between A/J and C57BL/6J mice indicate that mouse genetic mapping populations based on these progenitor lines are valuable for identifying molecular determinants of anorexia-related traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new virus was isolated from a tomato plant from the state of Sinaloa in Mexico. This plant showed symptoms locally known as ‘marchitez disease’: severe leaf necrosis, beginning at the base of the leaflets, and necrotic rings on the fruits. A virus was isolated from the infected plant consisting of isometric particles with a diameter of approximately 28 nm. The viral genome consists of two (+)ssRNA molecules of 7221 (RNA1) and 4898 nts (RNA2). The viral capsid contains three coat proteins of 35, 26 and 24 kDa, respectively. The abovementioned characteristics: symptoms, morphology, number and size of coat proteins, and number of RNAs are similar to those of the previously described tomato torrado virus (ToTV). Sequence analysis of the entire viral genome shows that this new virus is related to, but distinct from, ToTV and that these members of two obviously new virus species belong to the recently proposed plant virus genus Torradovirus. For this new virus, the name tomato marchitez virus (ToMarV) is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new virus was isolated from tomato plants from the Murcia region in Spain which showed symptoms of ‘torrado disease’; very distinct necrotic, almost burn-like symptoms on leaves of infected plants. The virus particles are isometric with a diameter of approximately 28 nm. The viral genome consists of two (+)ssRNA molecules of 7793 (RNA1) and 5389 nts (RNA2). RNA1 contains one open reading frame (ORF) encoding a predicted polyprotein of 241 kDa that shows conserved regions with motifs typical for a protease-cofactor, a helicase, a protease and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. RNA2 contains two, partially overlapping ORFs potentially encoding proteins of 20 and 134 kDa. These viral RNAs are encapsidated by three proteins with estimated sizes of 35, 26 and 23 kDa. Direct protein sequencing mapped these coat proteins to ORF2 on RNA2. Phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences showed that the virus is related to but distinct from viruses belonging to the genera Sequivirus, Sadwavirus and Cheravirus. This new virus, for which the name tomato torrado virus is proposed, most likely represents a member of a new plant virus genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a set V of points in the plane, a sequence$ d_0, d_1,\ldots,d_k $$*FORMULAINSPRINGER$ of nonnegative numbers and an integer n, we are interested in the problem to assign integers from$ {0,\ldots,n-1} $$*FORMULAINSPRINGER$ to the points in V such that if$ \underline{\mathbf{x,y}} \in V $$*FORMULAINSPRINGER$ are two points with Euclidean distance less than d[sub j] , then the difference between the labels of$ \underline{\mathbf{x}} $$*FORMULAINSPRINGER$ and$ \underline{\mathbf{y}} $$*FORMULAINSPRINGER$ is not equal to i. This question is inspired by problems occurring in the design of radio networks, where radio channels need to be assigned to transmitters in such a way that interference is minimized. In this paper we consider the case that the set of points are the points of a 2-dimensional lattice. Recent results by McDiarmid and Reed show that if only one constraint d[sub 0] is given, good labellings can be obtained by using so-called strict tilings. We extend these results to the case that higher level constraints [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An epidemiologic survey was carried out to assess the prevalence and severity of periodontal disease in randomly selected samples of employed populations in the Netherlands. Of the 1,337 persons examined by five examiners, 19.8 % were edentulous; 61% of dentate persons had intense gingivitis in an average of 2.4 segments of their mouths; 53 % had pockets of 3-6 mm and a further 10.1% had pockets of greater than 6 mm. The prevalence of gingivitis and pocketing increased with increasing age and decreasing levels of education. As no measures of predicting compliance were used and because treatment philosophies differ, no reasonable assessment of treatment needs could be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inoculations of primary leaves of French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) with conidia of Botrytis cinerea, suspended in 0.11 or 0.28 M glucose supplemented with 0.067 M KH2PO4 or 1 mM Na-ATP as infection stimulants, yielded mostly spreading lesions. Light microscopy revealed that the fungus could develop three types of prepenetration structures from which penetration started: germ tube apices (GA) either non-swollen or appearing as an appressorium-like swelling; appressoria (HA) of different forms produced 00 branched germ tubes 01 superficial hyphae; and infection cushions (IC). These structures were also formed 00 leaves of cucumber and tomato. Penetration from the prepenetration structures was not markedly influenced by the glucose concentration in the inoculum OT by host plant species, and varied only slightly with the isolate of B. cinerea. Penetration occurring from GA was greatly enhanced at high conidial concentrations. Low conidial concentrations, however, enhanced penetration starting from HA or IC, penetration from these structures also being dependent on the nature of the stimulant added to the glucose in the inoculum. The Mgh proportion of GA in inocula with a high conidial concentration was associated with a rapid penetration and a rapid formation of spreading lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2012, around 400.000 patients in the Netherlands were treated with Vitamin K Antagonists (VKA) for thromboembolic diseases. Since 2011, non-VKA oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are available. NOACs do not require frequent INR monitoring which benefits patients, but also imposes a risk of reduced therapy adherence. The objective of this study is to describe uptake and patient adherence of NOACs in The Netherlands until October 2016. Methods: Prescription data for 247.927 patients across 560 pharmacies were used to describe patient profiles, uptake of NOACs among new naive patients and switch between VKA and NOACs, and calculate therapy adherence as the Proportion of Days Covered (PDC). Results: During the studied period the share of NOACs in oral anticoagulants has grown to 57% of prescriptions to new patients. More than 70% of new NOAC users were new naive patients and around 26% switched from VKA. The overall share of NOACs among starters is largest in the group of patients of 50-80 years. Calculated compliance rate for NOAC patients shows that 88% of all users are adherent with a PDC higher than 80%. Conclusions: NOAC have overtaken VKA as the major treatment prescribed to new oral anticoagulant patients, and the number of starters on VKA is decreasing. Patients are generally adherent to NOACs during the implementation phase, the period that the medication is used. Fear for inadherence by itself does not need to be a reason for not prescribing NOACs instead of VKA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas bubbles entrapped in biocatalyst particles subjected to hydrostatic pressure oscillations, e.g. during recirculation in loop reactors, will induce intraparticle liquid flows, and thereby enhance mass transfer in excess of diffusion. This `breathing particle' mechanism was already demonstrated in methanogenic granules from an IC reactor, and led to an average macroscopic activity increase of 13%. The existence of the alternating convective liquid flow responsible for this higher activity has now been established independently with pulsed field gradient NMR, as the intraparticle water mobility during pressure oscillations was found 16.5% larger. Micro-electrode measurements of the internal pH of a granule revealed the occurrence of a fast liquid flow through a channel between a central cavity and the periphery during pressure cycling, and the subsequent diffusive relaxation under atmospheric conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas bubbles entrapped in biocatalyst particles subjected to hydrostatic pressure oscillations, e.g. during recirculation in loop reactors, will induce intraparticle liquid flows, and thereby enhance mass transfer in excess of diffusion. This 'breathing particle' mechanism was demonstrated in methanogenic granules, and led to a typical activity increase of 13% compared with static pressure conditions, From these experimental results and model predictions, it is concluded that convective acceleration of mass transfer in gas-producing systems offers interesting perspectives for the optimisation of biofilm processes in loop reactors. Development of special carrier materials with a central gas-filled cavity could lead to a novel type of bioreactor in which liquid flow through the biocatalyst is decisive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]