Publications by authors named "KONING A"

Knowledge of embryonic body posture as a reflection of neurodevelopment is limited. Here, we investigate embryonic body posture, preference, symmetry, and lateralization during periods of rest using virtual reality (VR) and four-dimensional (4D) ultrasound techniques to enhance our knowledge of neurodevelopment. It is hypothesized that lateralization and asymmetry in embryonic posture are absent.

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Study Objective: Essure is a hysteroscopic sterilization device that has been used in the Netherlands since 2003. Essure has received a lot of publicity due to many reported symptoms associated with the device. Because of this, increasing numbers of patients requested surgical removal of Essure devices.

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  • Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are major contributors to complications in pregnancy, prompting research into the role of maternal tryptophan metabolites in placental health and development.
  • The study involved 911 women and assessed serum tryptophan metabolites early in pregnancy, analyzing their relationships with placental volume and vascular development, as well as odds of developing HDP.
  • Findings showed that higher kynurenine levels negatively impacted placental development, while increased levels of 5-hydroxytryptophan were linked to higher risks of early pregnancy hypertension and preeclampsia.
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  • A study examined the emotional and skin-related symptoms in five patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma undergoing glucocorticoid treatment, finding that emotional disturbances often accompany this therapy.
  • Results showed that as treatment progressed, positive emotions declined, leading to increased irritation and itchy skin the following day.
  • The findings suggest that reduced positive emotions at the end of glucocorticoid treatment may be linked to lower energy and motivation, potentially worsening skin-related issues.
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Background & Aims: The quantity and quality of maternal nutrition in the periconception period is an important determinant for embryonic and foetal development and subsequent pregnancy course and outcome. The intake of ultra-processed foods (UPF) has increased worldwide and adverse health outcomes have been reported. However, the impact of UPF intake on the placenta, essential for prenatal nourishment, is unknown.

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  • - The study looks at whether stress hormones in pregnant women, called maternal vulnerability, can affect their baby's growth in the first trimester.
  • - Researchers found that higher levels of certain stress hormones in hair were linked to slower growth of the baby, while another substance called tryptophan was lower when stress was higher.
  • - The study used data from 132 pregnant women over a year to create a risk score for how vulnerable they are to stress and how it impacts their pregnancies.
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Study Question: Is early embryonic size and growth in the first trimester of pregnancy associated with adverse birth outcomes?

Summary Answer: Larger embryonic crown-rump length (CRL) and embryonic volume (EV) are associated with lower odds of adverse birth outcomes, especially small for gestational age (SGA).

What Is Already Known: Preterm birth, SGA, and congenital anomalies are the most prevalent adverse birth outcomes with lifelong health consequences as well as high medical and societal costs. In the late first and second trimesters of pregnancy, fetuses at risk for adverse birth outcomes can be identified using 2-dimensional ultrasonography (US).

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Objective (s): Circulating angiogenic factors are used for prediction of placenta-related complications, but their associations with first-trimester placental development is unknown. This study investigates associations between maternal angiogenic factors and utero-placental vascular volume (uPVV) and utero-placental vascular skeleton (uPVS) as novel imaging markers of volumetric and morphologic (branching) development of the first-trimester utero-placental vasculature.

Methods: In 185 ongoing pregnancies from the VIRTUAL Placenta study, a subcohort of the ongoing prospective Rotterdam Periconception cohort, three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasounds of the placenta were obtained at 7-9-11 weeks gestational age (GA).

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In previous studies, we found that tracking multiple objects involves anticipatory attention, especially in the linear direction, even when a target bounced against a wall. We also showed that active involvement, in which the wall was replaced by a controllable paddle, resulted in increased allocation of attention to the bounce direction. In the current experiments, we wanted to further investigate the potential influence of the valence of the heading of an object.

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Study Question: What are the costs and effects of tubal patency testing by hysterosalpingo-foam sonography (HyFoSy) compared to hysterosalpingography (HSG) in infertile women during the fertility work-up?

Summary Answer: During the fertility work-up, clinical management based on the test results of HyFoSy leads to slightly lower, though not statistically significant, live birth rates, at lower costs, compared to management based on HSG results.

What Is Known Already: Traditionally, tubal patency testing during the fertility work-up is performed by HSG. The FOAM trial, formally a non-inferiority study, showed that management decisions based on the results of HyFoSy resulted in a comparable live birth rate at 12 months compared to HSG (46% versus 47%; difference -1.

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Study Question: Is morphologic development of the first-trimester utero-placental vasculature associated with embryonic growth and development, fetal growth, and birth weight percentiles?

Summary Answer: Using the utero-placental vascular skeleton (uPVS) as a new imaging marker, this study reveals morphologic development of the first-trimester utero-placental vasculature is positively associated with embryonic growth and development, fetal growth, and birth weight percentiles.

What Is Known Already: First-trimester development of the utero-placental vasculature is associated with placental function, which subsequently impacts embryonic and fetal ability to reach their full growth potential. The attribution of morphologic variations in the utero-placental vascular development, including the vascular structure and branching density, on prenatal growth remains unknown.

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Introduction: Early utero-placental vascular development impacts placental development and function throughout pregnancy. We investigated whether impaired first-trimester utero-placental vascular development is associated with pathologic features of the postpartum placenta.

Methods: In this prospective observational study of 65 ongoing pregnancies, we obtained three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasounds of the placenta at 7, 9 and 11 weeks of gestation.

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Context: Synthetic glucocorticoids are widely used to treat patients with a broad range of diseases. While efficacious, glucocorticoids can be accompanied by neuropsychiatric adverse effects.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses and quantifies the proportion of different neuropsychiatric adverse effects in patients using synthetic glucocorticoids.

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European governments encourage their citizens to report signals of child sexual exploitation while traveling abroad. To better understand what inhibits their reporting behavior, this study examines travelers' intent to report signals of sexual exploitation of children in the context of travel and tourism (SECTT). Building on scholarship on crime reporting behavior and (indirect) bystander intervention, travelers from five European countries were surveyed about barriers influencing their reporting decision.

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Depression can be understood as a complex dynamic system where depressive symptoms interact with one another. Cortisol is suggested to play a major role in the pathophysiology of depression, but knowledge on the temporal interplay between cortisol and depressive symptoms is scarce. We aimed to analyze the temporal connectivity between salivary cortisol and momentary affective states in depressed individuals and controls.

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The foundations of today's societies are provided by manufactured capital accumulation driven by investment decisions through time. Reconceiving how the manufactured assets are harnessed in the production-consumption system is at the heart of the paradigm shifts necessary for long-term sustainability. Our research integrates 50 years of economic and environmental data to provide the global legacy environmental footprint (LEF) and unveil the historical material extractions, greenhouse gas emissions, and health impacts accrued in today's manufactured capital.

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Proton induced reaction data are needed in the optimization of various radioisotope production routes, among others. In this work, the evaluation of proton-induced reactions on Cd between 1 and 100 MeV using the TALYS code system within an iterative Bayesian Monte Carlo (iBMC) framework, is presented. The method involves the simultaneous variation of a large number of nuclear reaction models included in the TALYS code system as well as their parameters.

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A common goal among fisheries science professionals, stakeholders, and rights holders is to ensure the persistence and resilience of vibrant fish populations and sustainable, equitable fisheries in diverse aquatic ecosystems, from small headwater streams to offshore pelagic waters. Achieving this goal requires a complex intersection of science and management, and a recognition of the interconnections among people, place, and fish that govern these tightly coupled socioecological and sociotechnical systems. The World Fisheries Congress (WFC) convenes every four years and provides a unique global forum to debate and discuss threats, issues, and opportunities facing fish populations and fisheries.

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Study Question: Is there a difference in embryonic morphological development between ongoing pregnancies and live pregnancies ending in a miscarriage?

Summary Answer: Embryonic morphological development, assessed by the Carnegie stages, is delayed in live pregnancies ending in a miscarriage compared to ongoing pregnancies.

What Is Known Already: Pregnancies ending in a miscarriage tend to have smaller embryos and slower heart rates.

Study Design, Size, Duration: Between 2010 and 2018, 644 women with singleton pregnancies, in the periconception period, were enrolled in a prospective cohort study with follow up until 1 year after delivery.

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Background: Early screening of the brain is becoming routine clinical practice. Currently, this screening is performed by manual measurements and visual analysis, which is time-consuming and prone to errors. Computational methods may support this screening.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic debilitating neurological condition with a wide range of phenotype variability. A complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors contributes to disease onset and progression in MS patients. Vitamin D deficiency is a known susceptibility factor for MS, however the underlying mechanism of vitamin D-gene interactions in MS etiology is still poorly understood.

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Glucocorticoids are powerful modulators of brain function. They act via mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors (MR and GR). These are best understood as transcription factors.

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Study Question: Can three-dimensional (3D) Power Doppler (PD) ultrasound and a skeletonization algorithm be used to assess first-trimester development of the utero-placental vascular morphology?

Summary Answer: The application of 3D PD ultrasonography and a skeletonization algorithm facilitates morphologic assessment of utero-placental vascular development in the first trimester and reveals less advanced vascular morphologic development in pregnancies with placenta-related complications than in pregnancies without placenta-related complications.

What Is Known Already: Suboptimal development of the utero-placental vasculature is one of the main contributors to the periconceptional origin of placenta-related complications. The nature and attribution of aberrant vascular structure and branching patterns remain unclear, as validated markers monitoring first-trimester utero-placental vascular morphologic development are lacking.

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