Estimating monthly labour force figures during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands.

Official monthly statistics about the Dutch labour force are based on the Dutch Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is a continuously conducted survey that is designed as a rotating panel design. Data collection among selected households is based on a mixed-mode design that uses web interviewing, telephone interviewing and face-to-face interviewing.

A trans-Regulatory Code for the Forebrain Expression of Six3.2 in the Medaka Fish.

A well integrated and hierarchically organized gene regulatory network is responsible for the progressive specification of the forebrain. The transcription factor Six3 is one of the central components of this network. As such, Six3 regulates several components of the network, but its upstream regulators are still poorly characterized.

Integration of Hedgehog and BMP signalling by the engrailed2a gene in the zebrafish myotome.

Different levels and timing of Hedgehog (Hh) signalling activity have been proposed to specify three distinct cell types in the zebrafish myotome. Two of these, the medial fast-twitch fibres (MFFs) and the slow-twitch muscle pioneers (MPs) are characterised by expression of eng1a, -1b and -2a and require the highest levels of Hh for their specification. We have defined a minimal eng2a element sufficient to drive reporter expression specifically in MPs and MFFs.

A global survey identifies novel upstream components of the Ath5 neurogenic network.

Background: Investigating the architecture of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) is essential to decipher the logic of developmental programs during embryogenesis. In this study we present an upstream survey approach, termed trans-regulation screen, to comprehensively identify the regulatory input converging on endogenous regulatory sequences.

Results: Our dual luciferase-based screen queries transcriptome-scale collections of cDNAs.

The discovery, positioning and verification of a set of transcription-associated motifs in vertebrates.

We have developed several new methods to investigate transcriptional motifs in vertebrates. We developed a specific alignment tool appropriate for regions involved in transcription control, and exhaustively enumerated all possible 12-mers for involvement in transcription by virtue of their mammalian conservation. We then used deeper comparative analysis across vertebrates to identify the active instances of these motifs.

Early development of functional spatial maps in the zebrafish olfactory bulb.

In the adult olfactory bulb (OB), particular chemical classes of odorants preferentially activate glomeruli within loosely defined regions, resulting in a coarse and fractured "chemotopic" map. In zebrafish, amino acids and bile acids predominantly stimulate glomeruli in the lateral and medial OB, respectively. We studied the development of these spatial response maps in zebrafish.

The onset of action of formoterol, a new beta 2 adrenoceptor agonist.

Formoterol, a new long-acting beta 2-agonist, seems to be a step forward in the treatment of recurrent obstructive airway disease. Obstruction during the night and morning dip are less frequent and patient compliance is expected to be better than with the bronchodilators now in use. We studied the characteristics of the onset of action of formoterol by measuring sGAW (sGAW = specific airway conductance) to see if formoterol could be used as a rescue drug in cases of sudden attacks of obstruction.