Publications by authors named "Smit H"

Unlabelled: Floods are one of the persistent major risk drivers impacting the Cuvelai-Etosha basin of northern Namibia. Locally known as , this disruptive event negatively impacts particularly the rural population, who have limited resources to combat its effects. Being mostly subsistence farmers in isolated communities, the floods wreak havoc with their homesteads, harvests, animals, and general way of life by cutting them off from their fields, neighbours, and essential services for prolonged periods.

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Unlabelled: Technological advancements and the ubiquity of digital platforms have accelerated the spread of false information, undermining governance and social harmony. Despite its significance, there remains no academic consensus on a taxonomy for the various manifestations of false information. This study addresses this gap and examines the complex societal implications of misinformation.

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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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Correct classification of wounds is of paramount importance for diagnostic and therapeutic pathways. The aim of this study was to provide insight in the incidence of different aetiology of wounds and the healing time in a primary care setting. All patients with a wound presented in Primary Care (PC) practice from January 2017 through 2020 were included.

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The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a proof-of-concept open-source individualized Patient Decision Aid (iPDA) with a group of patients, physicians, and computer scientists. The iPDA was developed based on the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS). A previously published questionnaire was adapted and used to test the user-friendliness and content of the iPDA.

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Single-domain antibody fragments (sdAbs) can be isolated from heavy-chain-only antibodies that occur in camelids or the heavy chain of conventional antibodies, that also occur in camelids. Therapeutic application of sdAbs is often complicated by their low serum half-life. Fusion to sdAb that bind to long-lived serum proteins albumin or IgG can prolong serum half-life of fusion partners.

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Objective: The purpose of this review was to identify prognostic models for clinical application in patients with venous leg ulcers (VLUs).

Methods: Literature searches were conducted in Embase, Medline, Cochrane, and CINAHL databases from inception to December 22, 2021. Eligible studies reported prognostic models aimed at developing, validating, and adjusting multivariable prognostic models that include multiple prognostic factors combined, and that predicted clinical outcomes.

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In patients with previously treated advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), atezolizumab therapy improves survival with manageable safety. The open-label, single-arm phase III/IV TAIL study (NCT03285763) evaluated atezolizumab monotherapy in patients with previously treated NSCLC, including those with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 2, severe renal impairment, prior anti-programmed death 1 therapy, autoimmune disease, and age ≥75 years. Patients received atezolizumab intravenously (1200 mg) every 3 weeks.

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Introduction: The phase 3 PACIFIC trial established consolidation therapy with durvalumab as standard of care for patients with unresectable, stage III NSCLC and no disease progression after definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT). The observational PACIFIC-R study assesses the real-world effectiveness of durvalumab in patients from an early access program. Here, we report treatment characteristics and a preplanned analysis of real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS).

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Introduction: Despite radical intent therapy for patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), cumulative incidence of brain metastases (BM) reaches 30%. Current risk stratification methods fail to accurately identify these patients. As radiomics features have been shown to have predictive value, this study aims to develop a model combining clinical risk factors with radiomics features for BM development in patients with radically treated stage III NSCLC.

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Background: Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHD) is an inherited disease caused by pathogenic variants in the FLCN gene. One of the characteristics is the increased risk for spontaneous pneumothorax, likely due to the presence of pulmonary cysts mainly distributed under the carina. Due to variable expression and lack of awareness, BHD is likely to be underdiagnosed.

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Pure fruit juice is comparable to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) with respect to its sugar and fructose content. However, it also contains favorable components like polyphenols. From this perspective, pure fruit juice is more comparable with whole fruit.

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In this study, based on morphology and DNA barcodes, new records of water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia) collected in August 2017 in North Iran are presented. Hydrodroma golestanica n. sp.

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Background: Discussions with relatives are relevant and crucial aspects of the organ donation process and contribute to a consolidated and sustainable decision by the families of the deceased. Despite the great importance of family care, there is no systematic analysis of the quality of this communication, in contrast to the diagnosis of irreversible loss of brain function, organ retrieval and organ transplantation. For this reason, organ donation experts were interviewed about recurring characteristics of communication with relatives of the deceased.

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Background: Networks are promoted as an organizational form that enables integrated care as well as enhanced patient outcomes. However, implementing networks is complex. It is therefore important to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of networks to ensure it is worth developing and maintaining them.

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Tetanus antitoxin, produced in animals, has been used for the prevention and treatment of tetanus for more than 100 years. The availability of antitoxins, ethical issues around production, and risks involved in the use of animal derived serum products are a concern. We therefore developed a llama derived single-domain antibody (VHH) multimer to potentially replace the conventional veterinary product.

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Background: Prolonged air leak after pulmonary surgery remains a clinical challenge and sometimes needs surgical reintervention. An autologous blood patch (ABP) may provide a noninvasive method to stop air leak. Its value, however, is debatable.

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Nitrogen fertilization, irrigation and concentrate feeding are important factors in rotational pasture management for dairy farms in South Africa. The extent to which these factors affect environmental efficiency is subject to current and intense debate among scientists. A three-year field study was conducted to investigate the yield response of different N-fertilizer treatments (0 (N0), 220 (N20), 440 (N40), 660 (N60) and 880 (N80) kg N ha year) on grazed pastures and to calculate the carbon footprint (CF) of milk produced.

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In the middle of the worldwide COVID-19 crisis, the whole of Europe was alarmed about a possible side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19. Consequently, the use of this AstraZeneca vaccine was temporarily suspended in many European nations including the Netherlands. In this article, we chronologically describe the decisions that were made about the use of this vaccine in the Netherlands and we discuss the risk-benefit ratios of these actions as well as possible non-medical reasons that may explain why these actions were taken.

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