(Cost-)effectiveness and implementation of a combined lifestyle intervention for outpatients with severe mental illness (GOAL!): a hybrid quasi-experimental study protocol.

Background: People with severe mental illness (SMI) face not only impaired mental health, but also a greater risk of physical comorbidities and a shorter life expectancy compared to the general population. A poor lifestyle plays a substantial role in this disparity. Combined Lifestyle Interventions targeting multiple lifestyle behaviors can improve mental and physical health, and quality of life.

Learned Nocebo Effects on Cutaneous Sensations of Pain and Itch: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Experimental Behavioral Studies on Healthy Humans.

Objective: In past decades, the field of nocebo research has focused on studying how sensory perception can be shaped by learning. Nocebo effects refer to aggravated sensory experiences or increased sensitivity to sensations such as pain and itch resulting from treatment-related negative experiences. Behavioral conditioning and verbal suggestions of a negative treatment outcome may aggravate pain and itch perception.

Placebo effects on cutaneous pain and itch: a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental results and methodology.

Placebo effects, positive treatment outcomes that go beyond treatment processes, can alter sensations through learning mechanisms. Understanding how methodological factors contribute to the magnitude of placebo effects will help define the mechanisms by which these effects occur. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental placebo studies in cutaneous pain and itch in healthy samples, focused on how differences in methodology contribute to the resulting placebo effect magnitude.

Effectiveness and implementation of a multidisciplinary lifestyle focused approach in the treatment of inpatients with mental illness (MULTI +): a stepped wedge study protocol.

Background: People with mental illness have a reduced life expectancy compared to the general population. Despite the increasing evidence for the efficacy of lifestyle interventions there is little change in routine clinical care. This discrepancy is often referred to as the implementation gap and has caused a need for effectiveness and implementation research in real-world settings.

Nocebo Effects on Cowhage-evoked Itch: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Classical Conditioning and Observational Learning.

To investigate learning processes underlying nocebo effects on itch, this study measured the efficacy of classical conditioning and observational learning for inducing nocebo effects on cowhage-evoked itch and scratching behaviour. A total of 58 healthy female participants were assigned to classical conditioning, observational learning, or sham conditioning groups. In the classical conditioning group, experimenters associated the application of an inert gel with increased itch intensity themselves.

Evaluation of a new Transmural Trauma Care Model (TTCM) for the rehabilitation of trauma patients: a study protocol.

Background: Improved organization of trauma care in the acute phase has reduced mortality of trauma patients. However, there has been limited attention for the optimal organization of post-clinical rehabilitation of trauma patients. Therefore we developed a Transmural Trauma Care Model (TTCM).

Cost-effectiveness of open versus endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Background: Patients with a large unruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm with a diameter >5.0 cm are treated with open surgical repair (OSR) or endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Because many studies have assessed the cost-effectiveness of these treatments with conflicting results, this systematic review examined published cost-effectiveness analyses of elective EVAR vs OSR in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Measurement properties of the Dutch version of the Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI).

Background: The Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI) is a disease-specific shoulder questionnaire to measure quality of life in patients with shoulder instability. The aim of the present study was to translate the WOSI into Dutch and assess its principal measurement properties.

Methods: The WOSI was translated into Dutch according to guidelines in the literature.

Reproducibility of the Dutch version of the Western Ontario rotator cuff Index.

Background: The Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (WORC) is a disease-specific shoulder questionnaire, originally developed at the University of Western Ontario, to measure quality of life in patients with rotator cuff disease (RCD). The aim of the present study was to cross-culturally adapt the WORC for use in the Netherlands and to evaluate the reproducibility in patients with RCD.

Materials And Methods: The WORC was translated into Dutch according to leading guidelines in the literature, and 52 patients with RCD completed the questionnaire twice within 2 weeks.

Short- and long-term effects of selective dorsal rhizotomy on gross motor function in ambulatory children with spastic diplegia.

Object: The primary aim of this prospective cohort study was to evaluate the short-term (1 year) and long-term (mean 6 years) effects of selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) on gross motor function and spasticity in ambulatory children with spastic diplegia. Secondary aims were to investigate side effects, additional treatment during follow-up (botulinum toxin type A injections or orthopedic surgery), and parental satisfaction.

Methods: Thirty-three children who had undergone SDR at a mean age of 6 years and 7 months (± 2 years) were included.

Inactivation rates of Cronobacter spp. and selected other bacterial strains in powdered infant formulae stored at different temperatures.

The aim of this study was to determine the survival of two strains of Cronobacter (Enterobacter sakazakii) and six other bacterial strains inoculated into dry powdered infant formula (PIF) stored for 22 weeks at several temperatures between 7 and 42 degrees C. The experimental setup involved a relatively high initial concentration of bacteria, around 10(4) CFU/g of powder, and enumeration of survivors with a minimum detection level of 100 CFU/g. For all strains tested, it was found that the number of bacterial cells decreased faster with increasing temperature.

Effects of exercise training on cardiac performance, exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with heart failure: a meta-analysis.

Background: Despite major advances in pharmacological treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF), a number of patients still suffer from dyspnoea, fatigue, diminished exercise capacity and poor quality of life. It is in this context that exercise training is being intensively evaluated for any additional benefit in the treatment of CHF.

Aims: To determine the effect of exercise training in patients with CHF on cardiac performance, exercise capacity and health-related quality of life.

Effects of preculturing conditions on lag time and specific growth rate of Enterobacter sakazakii in reconstituted powdered infant formula.

Enterobacter sakazakii can be present, although in low levels, in dry powdered infant formulae, and it has been linked to cases of meningitis in neonates, especially those born prematurely. In order to prevent illness, product contamination at manufacture and during preparation, as well as growth after reconstitution, must be minimized by appropriate control measures. In this publication, several determinants of the growth of E.

A new protocol for the detection of Enterobacter sakazakii applied to environmental samples.

Enterobacter sakazakii is a motile, peritrichous, gram-negative rod that was previously known as a yellow pigmented Enterobacter cloacae. It is documented as a rare cause of outbreaks and sporadic cases of life-threatening neonatal meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and sepsis. E.

Occurrence of Enterobacter sakazakii in food production environments and households.

Enterobacter sakazakii occasionally causes illness in premature babies and neonates. Contamination of infant formulae during factory production or bottle preparation is implicated. Advice to health-care professionals focuses on bottle preparation, but the effectiveness of prevention depends on the degree of contamination and contamination sites, which are generally unknown.

A biofilm model for flowing systems in the food industry.

When bacteria attach to the walls of pipelines, they can form biofilms, which can cause the recontamination of food products. In order to quantify such recontamination, a one-dimensional biofilm model was developed taking into account adsorption, desorption, and the growth of cells. The model consisted of two mass balances describing increases in biofilm formation at the wall and the accumulation of cells in the liquid phase.

Estimating the probability of recontamination via the air using Monte Carlo simulations.

Recontamination of food products can cause foodborne illnesses or spoilage of foods. It is therefore useful to quantify this recontamination so that it can be incorporated in microbiological risk assessments (MRA). This paper describes a first attempt to quantify one of the recontamination routes: via the air.

Quantifying recontamination through factory environments--a review.

Recontamination of food products can be the origin of foodborne illnesses and should therefore be included in quantitative microbial risk assessment (MRA) studies. In order to do this, recontamination should be quantified using predictive models. This paper gives an overview of the relevant modelling approaches that are available in the literature to quantify recontamination via factory environment.

Practical Approaches to Risk Assessment .

The aim of microbiological risk assessment is to facilitate decision making at various levels of food safety management. At the personal level, the decision concerns what to eat and what not to eat. Knowledge concerning the potential risks of certain foods and the degree of satisfaction derived from eating a food are important criteria in making the decision.

Use of Epidemiologic and Food Survey Data To Estimate a Purposefully Conservative Dose-Response Relationship for Listeria monocytogenes Levels and Incidence of Listeriosis .

The development of effective quantitative microbial risk-assessment models for foodborne pathogens depends on the availability of data on the consumers' exposure to a biological agent and the dose-response relationship that relates levels of the biological agent ingested with frequency of infection or disease. Information on the latter has historically been acquired from human volunteer feeding studies. However, such studies are not feasible for pathogens that either have a significant risk of being life threatening or for which morbidity is primarily associated with high-risk populations (i.

Standardisation of microbiological methods. The Salmonella example.

The results of studies carried out under the leadership of Prof. Kampelmacher to elaborate a reliable Salmonella isolation method are highlighted. The strategy which was successfully followed is summarised in a table.

Malachite green pre-enrichment medium for improved salmonella isolation from heavily contaminated samples.

Large numbers of competitive bacteria may hinder the isolation of salmonellas from food and environmental samples when a pre-enrichment method is used. The addition of 0.1 g/l of malachite green (MG) to buffered peptone water (BPW) inhibited the multiplication of Gram-positive bacteria.

Collaborative study on the isolation of salmonella from artificially contaminated milk powder.

The suitability of artificially contaminated milk powder as a substrate for salmonella reference samples and its stability under different storage conditions were studied. The need for a reconstitution step in the standard isolation method for salmonellas from milk powders was also investigated. When milk powder was examined in this way with a reconstitution step, differences in laboratory methods and/or storage times had no significant effect on the results after storage at 4 degrees C.

Enterobacteriaceae as indicators of good manufacturing practices in rendering plants.

Finished products and samples from the environment of the production line in rendering plants were checked for Enterobacteriaceae and salmonellae. Improvements in hygiene and measures taken to limit multiplication of microorganisms in the dry area of the production lines resulted in reduction of both numbers of Enterobacteriaceae in environmental samples and frequency of their occurrence in finished products. Simultaneously, there was an equivalent reduction of salmonellae positives in environmental samples and finished products.