Coping strategies of retinoblastoma survivors in relation to behavioural problems.

Objective: To assess coping strategies of long-term retinoblastoma (RB) survivors and explore determinants of behavioural functioning, including medical, socio-demographic and coping variables.

Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study included 117 RB survivors (12-35 years), registered in the Dutch national RB register. Survivors were asked to fill in coping, social support and behavioural questionnaires, and situational characteristics were obtained from medical archives and from an interview.

Climate change: a catalyst for global expansion of harmful cyanobacterial blooms.

Cyanobacteria are the Earth's oldest known oxygen-evolving photosynthetic microorganisms, and they have had major impacts on shaping our current atmosphere and biosphere. Their long evolutionary history has enabled cyanobacteria to develop survival strategies and persist as important primary producers during numerous geochemical and climatic changes that have taken place on Earth during the past 3.5 billion years.

Information processing, attention and visual-motor function of adolescents born after in vitro fertilization compared with spontaneous conception.

Background: Adverse conditions during prenatal life are associated with changes in physical and mental functioning in later life, as shown in children born preterm or small for gestational age. While recently in IVF children cardiometabolic differences have been demonstrated, there might also be risks for disturbance in cognitive functions. Therefore, this study examined information processing, attention and visual-motor function in pubertal IVF children compared with spontaneously conceived controls from subfertile parents.

Colorful microdiversity of Synechococcus strains (picocyanobacteria) isolated from the Baltic Sea.

Synechococcus is a cosmopolitan genus of picocyanobacteria living in the photic zone of freshwater and marine ecosystems. Here, we describe the isolation of 46 closely related picocyanobacterial strains from the Baltic Sea. The isolates showed considerable variation in their cell size and pigmentation phenotypes, yielding a colorful variety of red, pink and blue-green strains.

Effect of dexamethasone on quality of life in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a prospective observational study.

Background: Glucocorticoids are important in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). However, cyclic administration of high dose glucocorticoids may cause rapid and substantial changes in quality of life (QoL). The maintenance phase of the Dutch ALL-9 protocol consisted of alternating two weeks on and five weeks off dexamethasone (6 mg/m(2)/day).

Behavior and socioemotional functioning in 9-18-year-old children born after in vitro fertilization.

Objective: To evaluate the psychosocial well-being of 9-18-year-old IVF children. IVF alters fetal programming, with consequences for physical functioning. This also may apply to behavior.

The long-term follow-up of patients with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia: a broad spectrum of morbidity.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a life-threatening anomaly with a mortality rate of approximately 40-50%, depending on case selection. It has been suggested that new therapeutic modalities such as nitric oxide (NO), high frequency oxygenation (HFO) and extracorporal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) might decrease mortality associated with pulmonary hypertension and the sequelae of artificial ventilation. When these new therapies indeed prove to be beneficial, a larger number of children with severe forms of CDH might survive, resulting in an increase of CDH-associated complications and/or consequences.

The timescale of phenotypic plasticity and its impact on competition in fluctuating environments.

Although phenotypic plasticity can be advantageous in fluctuating environments, it may come too late if the environment changes fast. Complementary chromatic adaptation is a colorful form of phenotypic plasticity, where cyanobacteria tune their pigmentation to the prevailing light spectrum. Here, we study the timescale of chromatic adaptation and its impact on competition among phytoplankton species exposed to fluctuating light colors.

Phenotypic and genetic diversification of Pseudanabaena spp. (cyanobacteria).

Pseudanabaena species are poorly known filamentous bloom-forming cyanobacteria closely related to Limnothrix. We isolated 28 Pseudanabaena strains from the Baltic Sea (BS) and the Albufera de Valencia (AV; Spain). By combining phenotypic and genotypic approaches, the phylogeny, diversity and evolutionary diversification of these isolates were explored.

How do sinking phytoplankton species manage to persist?

Phytoplankton require light for photosynthesis. Yet, most phytoplankton species are heavier than water and therefore sink. How can these sinking species persist? Somehow, the answer should lie in the turbulent motion that redisperses sinking phytoplankton over the vertical water column.

Fundamental unpredictability in multispecies competition.

One of the central goals of ecology is to predict the distribution and abundance of organisms. Here, we show that, in ecosystems of high biodiversity, the outcome of multispecies competition can be fundamentally unpredictable. We consider a competition model widely applied in phytoplankton ecology and plant ecology in which multiple species compete for three resources.

Reproducibility of volumetric intravascular ultrasound radiofrequency-based analysis of coronary plaque composition in vivo.

Intravascular ultrasound radiofrequency (RF-IVUS) data permit the analysis of coronary plaque composition in vivo and is used as an endpoint of ongoing pharmacological intervention trials. We assessed the reproducibility of volumetric RF-IVUS analyses in mild-to-moderately diseased atherosclerotic human coronary arteries in vivo. A total of 9,212 IVUS analyses on cross-sectional IVUS frames was performed to evaluate the reproducibility of volumetric RF-IVUS measurements in 33 coronary segments with a length of 27 +/- 7 mm.

Amino acid availability determines the ratio of microcystin variants in the cyanobacterium Planktothrix agardhii.

Cyanobacteria are capable of producing multiple microcystin variants simultaneously. The mechanisms that determine the composition of microcystin variants in cyanobacteria are still debated. [Asp(3)]microcystin-RR contains arginine at the position where the more toxic [Asp(3)]microcystin-LR incorporates leucine.

Behavioural functioning of retinoblastoma survivors.

Objective: To assess behavioural problems in retinoblastoma (RB) survivors.

Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study included 148 RB survivors (8-35 years), registered in the Dutch national RB register. Survivors and parents were asked to fill in behavioural questionnaires.

The usefulness of growth hormone treatment for psychological status in young adult survivors of childhood leukaemia: an open-label study.

Background: To reduce the risk of brain damage children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) are nowadays mainly treated with intrathecal chemotherapy (ITC) instead of central nervous system (CNS) radiation therapy (CRT) to prevent CNS relapse. However, chemotherapy may also lead to cognitive deficits. As growth hormone deficiency (GHD) or impaired growth hormone secretion are frequently found in ALL patients treated with cranial radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy, we hypothesized that GH therapy may reduce cognitive deficits in these patients.

An overview of studies on early development, cognition, and psychosocial well-being in children born after in vitro fertilization.

Objective: To examine whether sufficient research has been done and definite conclusions can be drawn on the psychological outcome of children born after in vitro fertilization (IVF), a review was performed of studies on early development, cognition, and psychosocial well-being in IVF children.

Method: PubMed and PsycINFO databases were searched. All English language studies up to 2006 addressing these topics were included.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low-birth-weight infants after enteral glutamine supplementation in the neonatal period.

Aim: To determine the effect of neonatal glutamine-enriched enteral nutrition in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants on neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years of age.

Methods: Eighty-eight out of one hundred two infants participating in the initial study were eligible for the follow-up study (13 died, one exclusion due to a chromosomal abnormality). Neurodevelopmental outcome (neurologic status, vision, hearing and Mental Developmental Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II) was evaluated at the corrected age of 2 years.

Widespread distribution of proteorhodopsins in freshwater and brackish ecosystems.

Proteorhodopsins (PRs) are light-driven proton pumps that have been found in a variety of marine environments. The goal of this study was to search for PR presence in different freshwater and brackish environments and to explore the diversity of non-marine PR protein. Here, we show that PRs exist in distinctly different aquatic environments, ranging from clear water lakes to peat lakes and in the Baltic Sea.

Chaos in a long-term experiment with a plankton community.

Mathematical models predict that species interactions such as competition and predation can generate chaos. However, experimental demonstrations of chaos in ecology are scarce, and have been limited to simple laboratory systems with a short duration and artificial species combinations. Here, we present the first experimental demonstration of chaos in a long-term experiment with a complex food web.

School functioning in 8- to 18-year-old children born after in vitro fertilization.

The aim of this study was to examine the school functioning of 8- to 18-year-old children born after in vitro fertilization (IVF). We compared 233 children born after IVF to 233 matched control children born spontaneously from parents with fertility problems on measures of education level, general cognitive ability, school performance (need for extra help, repeating a grade, special education), and rates of learning and developmental disorders. No differences were found between IVF and control children on these measures of school functioning.

The views of young adults and their parents on hormone treatment for short stature in adolescence.

Aim: To examine the view of young adults and their parents on growth hormone (GH) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) treatment in adolescence for idiopathic short stature (ISS) or short stature born small for gestational age (SGA).

Methods: Thirty young adults with ISS or SGA (18 treated, 12 untreated; age 17-23 years; 5.5 years after treatment) completed questionnaires and they and their parents were interviewed.

Health-related quality of life of child and adolescent retinoblastoma survivors in the Netherlands.

Background: To assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children (8-11 years) and adolescents (12-18 years) who survived retinoblastoma (RB), by means of the KIDSCREEN self-report questionnaire and the proxy-report version.

Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study (participation rate 70%) involved 65 RB survivors (8-18 years) and their parents. Child/adolescents' and parents' perception of their youth's HRQoL was assessed using the KIDSCREEN, and the results were compared with Dutch reference data.

Colorful niches of phototrophic microorganisms shaped by vibrations of the water molecule.

The photosynthetic pigments of phototrophic microorganisms cover different regions of the solar light spectrum. Utilization of the light spectrum can be interpreted in terms of classical niche theory, as the light spectrum offers opportunities for niche differentiation and allows coexistence of species absorbing different colors of light. However, which spectral niches are available for phototrophic microorganisms? Here, we show that the answer is hidden in the vibrations of the water molecule.

Psychosexual functioning of childhood cancer survivors.

Purpose: The objective of the study is to explore psychosexual functioning and its relationship with quality of life in survivors of cancer in childhood.

Methods: Sixty childhood cancer survivors completed two questionnaires: psychosexual and social functioning questionnaire and MOS-SF-36.

Results: Psychosexual problems were frequent.