Background: The innate immune response is important for the development of the specific adaptive immunity, however it may also be associated with reactogenicity after vaccination. We explore the association between innate responsiveness, reactogenicity, and antibody response after first COVID-19 vaccination.
Methods: We included 146 healthy Dutch individuals aged 12-59 who received their first BNT162b2 (Comirnaty, Pfizer) COVID-19 vaccination.
Background: Postoperative infections significantly impact patient outcomes and costs, exacerbated by late diagnoses, yet early reliable predictors are scarce. Existing artificial intelligence (AI) models for postoperative infection prediction often lack external validation or perform poorly in local settings when validated. We aimed to develop locally valid models as part of the PERISCOPE AI system to enable early detection, safer discharge, and more timely treatment of patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To compare nationwide outcomes of robotic liver resection (RLR) with laparoscopic liver resection (LLR).
Background: Minimally invasive liver resection is increasingly performed using the robotic approach as this could help overcome inherent technical limitations of laparoscopy. It is unknown if this translates to improved patient outcomes.
Piloting is a complex task that demands robust cognitive functions to handle multiple tasks simultaneously in a constantly changing environment. As a result, cognitive abilities, particularly executive functions (EFs), have gained significant importance in relation to flight performance. However, the specific EFs most critical for predicting flight performance remain unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: In the Netherlands, since 1996, there is a national cervical cancer (CC) screening programme in place for women aged 30-60 years. The participation of Turkish- and Moroccan-Dutch women is very low. To facilitate their informed decision-making, we developed a culturally sensitive educational video, and evaluated it through a questionnaire study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Elderly care physicians (ECPs) in nursing homes document patients' health, medical conditions, and the care provided in electronic health records (EHRs). However, much of these health data currently lack structure and standardization, limiting their potential for health information exchange across care providers and reuse for quality improvement, policy development, and scientific research. Enhancing this potential requires insight into the attitudes and behaviors of ECPs toward standardized and structured recording in EHRs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Surgical site infections (SSIs) lead to increased mortality and morbidity, as well as increased healthcare costs. Multiple models for the prediction of this serious surgical complication have been developed, with an increasing use of machine learning (ML) tools.
Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the performance as well as the methodological quality of validated ML models for the prediction of SSIs.
Deciphering microbial metabolism is essential for understanding ecosystem functions. Genome-scale metabolic models (GSMMs) predict metabolic traits from genomic data, but constructing GSMMs for uncultured bacteria is challenging due to incomplete metagenome-assembled genomes, resulting in many gaps. We introduce the deep neural network guided imputation of reactomes (DNNGIOR), which uses AI to improve gap-filling by learning from the presence and absence of metabolic reactions across diverse bacterial genomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To explore the personal experiences of women faced with the decision to continue a triplet pregnancy or undergo multifetal pregnancy reduction.
Methods: A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was conducted between October 2021 and April 2023. Participants included women who continued a triplet pregnancy, and those who underwent multifetal pregnancy reduction from triplet to twins or singletons, 1-6 years post-decision.
Background: Previous spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) is a strong risk indicator for recurrent preterm birth (PTB). Cervical cerclage is an accepted intervention to prevent recurrent PTB in high risk patients. Cervical pessary might be a less invasive alternative.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) outbreaks, driven by the expanding habitat of the Aedes albopictus mosquito and global climate change, pose a significant threat to public health. Our study evaluates the effectiveness of emergency vaccination using a dynamic disease transmission model for a potential large-scale outbreak in Rome, Italy.
Methods: The model incorporates a susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered (SEIR) framework for human and mosquito populations, taking into account temperature-dependent mosquito lifecycle dynamics, human-mosquito interactions, and various vaccination scenarios.
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol X
December 2024
Objective: To assess the risk of recurrent preterm birth following spontaneous extreme preterm birth between 16 - 27 weeks.
Methods: A nationwide retrospective cohort study was conducted with data from the Perinatal Registry of the Netherlands. We included nulliparous women with a singleton pregnancy that ended in spontaneous preterm birth between 16 and 27 weeks of gestation without congenital anomalies or antenatal death between 2010-2014 and had a subsequent pregnancy in the 5 years following (2010-2019).
To assess the cost-effectiveness of low-dose aspirin compared to placebo for the prevention of recurrent preterm birth from a healthcare perspective. This was a cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. We included women with a singleton pregnancy and a previous spontaneous preterm birth <37 weeks of gestation of a singleton.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: When research and management of Dupuytren's disease (DD) shift from symptom relief to preventing contractures, general practitioner (GP) care may become more central to treatment. However, the presentation and course of DD in GP care are underexplored and this has been recognized as a knowledge gap that hinders effective treatment decisions. This study is the first to map the trajectory of DD patients in GP care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith large wildfires becoming more frequent, we must rapidly learn how megafires impact biodiversity to prioritize mitigation and improve policy. A key challenge is to discover how interactions among fire-regime components, drought and land tenure shape wildfire impacts. The globally unprecedented 2019-2020 Australian megafires burnt more than 10 million hectares, prompting major investment in biodiversity monitoring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFluoroquinolones (FQs) are considered the most effective antimicrobial treatment for Gram-negative prosthetic joint infection (GN-PJI). Alternatives are needed due to increasing FQ resistance and side effects. We aimed to compare different targeted antimicrobial strategies for GN-PJI managed by debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention (DAIR) or one-stage revision surgery (1SR) and to review the literature of oral treatment options for GN-PJI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol
December 2024
Objective: To assess the variation between countries for routine transvaginal ultrasound assessment of the cervical length and interventions offered to prevent preterm birth (PTB).
Study Design: An anonymous digital questionnaire was sent out between August and October 2023 to delegates of the European Spontaneous Preterm Birth Congress. Outcomes assessed included method, indications (i.
Background: The Dutch Euthanasia law permits euthanasia in patients with advanced dementia lacking decisional capacity based on advance euthanasia directives. Nevertheless, physicians encounter difficulties assessing the criteria for due care in such cases. This study explores the perspectives of legal experts on the fulfillment of these criteria and the potential for additional legal guidance to support physicians' decision-making processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: High molecular weight (HMW; >1 kDa) carbohydrates are a major component of dissolved organic matter (DOM) released by benthic primary producers. Despite shifts from coral to algae dominance on many reefs, little is known about the effects of exuded carbohydrates on bacterioplankton communities in reef waters. We compared the monosaccharide composition of HMW carbohydrates exuded by hard corals and brown macroalgae and investigated the response of the bacterioplankton community of an algae-dominated Caribbean reef to the respective HMW fractions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The focus of research and management of Dupuytren's disease (DD) is shifting from relieving symptoms in the later stages of disease towards the prevention of contractures. Treatment services might likewise shift towards primary care. Studying characteristics of DD patients who seek medical care for the first time, may identify a symptomatic target group for early DD treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To identify global differences in the use of suppressive antimicrobial therapy (SAT) in the management of prosthetic joint infection (PJI).
Methods: An online survey was designed to investigate clinician's approach to SAT for PJI, including indications, preferred antimicrobial drugs, dosing, treatment duration and follow-up. The survey was distributed to members of four international (bone and joint) infection societies and study groups.