Publications by authors named "F De Vries"

Objective: To explore medical students' perceptions and experiences regarding the surgery clerkship and surgeons.

Design: Between November 2021 and February 2022, an anonymous prepost survey study was performed among 2 consecutive cohorts of medical students. The survey was taken 6 weeks prior to the surgery clerkship and repeated shortly after the surgery clerkship.

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Reports linking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) with cognition and dementia show conflicting results, with limited evidence on underlying biological mechanisms. However, existing studies did not investigate brain microstructure, which could provide valuable insights into early structural changes indicative of cognitive decline. Analyses were based on cross-sectional baseline data from the Rhineland Study (n = 7,465; mean age 55.

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Increasing extreme climatic events threaten the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Because soil microbes govern key biogeochemical processes, understanding their response to climate extremes is crucial in predicting the consequences for ecosystem functioning. Here we subjected soils from 30 grasslands across Europe to four contrasting extreme climatic events under common controlled conditions (drought, flood, freezing and heat), and compared the response of soil microbial communities and their functioning with those of undisturbed soils.

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Article Synopsis
  • HyperCortisolism in Cushing's syndrome (CS) leads to lower bone mineral density (BMD) and increased fracture risk, with patients experiencing improved BMD post-remission but still having a higher fracture rate.* -
  • A study involving 60 patients in remission and 60 matched controls found that despite similar BMD, the bone material strength index (BMSi) was significantly lower in patients, indicating poorer bone quality.* -
  • These altered bone properties in CS patients may contribute to ongoing bone fragility, highlighting that BMD alone may not fully assess fracture risk in this group.*
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Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease characterized by pulmonary vascular remodeling. Since dephosphorylated-uncarboxylated Matrix Gla-Protein (dp-ucMGP) is associated with cardiovascular mortality in systemic sclerosis, a disease associated with PAH, and immune-system involvement in PAH is increasingly recognized, we investigated the relationship between dp-ucMGP, vascular remodeling and soluble immune-checkpoint proteins in PAH. This prospective cohort study included patients with idiopathic (I)PAH, connective tissue disease (CTD)-PAH, chronic thrombo-embolic PH (CTEPH) and CTD patients without PAH.

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