Publications by authors named "Winkel L"

We present a 78-year-old, unvaccinated woman with a tetanus induced severe opisthotonos, requiring mechanical ventilation. We point out the importance of verifying the vaccination status for older patients born before the early 1950's and patients with a migration background. Additionally, we emphasize on administering appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis.

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Background: Previous literature has demonstrated high rates of Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) colonization in patients undergoing primary shoulder arthroplasty. Residing primarily within the dermal layer, C.

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Arsenic, a toxic element from both anthropogenic and natural sources, reaches surface environments through atmospheric cycling and dry and wet deposition. Biomethylation volatilizes arsenic into the atmosphere and deposition cycles it back to the surface, affecting soil-plant systems. Chemical speciation of deposited arsenic is important for understanding further processing in soils and bioavailability.

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Reductions in sulfur (S) atmospheric deposition in recent decades have been attributed to S deficiencies in crops. Similarly, global soil selenium (Se) concentrations were predicted to drop, particularly in Europe, due to increases in leaching attributed to increases in aridity. Given its international importance in agriculture, reductions of essential elements, including S and Se, in European soils could have important impacts on nutrition and human health.

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Background: The aim of the present study was to report the 5-year axillary recurrence-free interval (aRFI) in clinically node-positive breast cancer patients treated according to a de-escalating axillary treatment protocol after neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST).

Methods: All patients diagnosed in two hospitals between October 2014 and March 2021 were identified retrospectively. Data on diagnostic workup, treatment and follow-up was collected.

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Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for many living organisms particularly due to its unique redox properties. We recently found that the sulfur (S) analog for dimethyl selenide (DMSe), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), reacts fast with the marine oxidant hypobromous acid (HOBr) which likely serves as a sink of marine DMS. Here we investigated the reactivity of HOBr with dimethyl selenide and dimethyl diselenide (DMDSe), which are the main volatile Se compounds biogenically produced in marine waters.

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Purpose: The aim was to determine whether the real-world first-line progression-free survival (PFS) of patients diagnosed with de novo human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) advanced breast cancer (ABC) has improved since the introduction of pertuzumab in 2013. In addition to PFS, we aimed to determine differences in overall survival (OS) and the use of systemic and locoregional therapies.

Methods: Included were patients systemically treated for de novo HER2+ ABC in ten hospitals in 2008-2017 from the SONABRE Registry (NCT-03577197).

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Chemical elements such as copper and molybdenum are essential for animal and human health but may become toxic at elevated concentrations depending on the exposure and intake rate. Other elements such as mercury pose a threat to human health at already low concentrations. The soil acts as the main source of these elements for plant uptake and is thus driving accumulation along the food chain.

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Background: This study aims to explore whether first-line pertuzumab use modifies the effect of prior use of (neo-) adjuvant trastuzumab on the PFS of first-line HER2-targeted therapy in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive advanced breast cancer (ABC).

Methods: Patients diagnosed with HER2-positive ABC in 2008 to 2018 in 9 Dutch hospitals were derived from the SONABRE Registry (NCT03577197). Patients diagnosed with de novo metastatic breast cancer were excluded.

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Purpose: This study determines the prognostic impact of body mass index (BMI) in patients with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor-2-negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced (i.e., metastatic) breast cancer (ABC).

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Although oceans play a key role in the global selenium (Se) cycle, there is currently very little quantitative information available on the distribution of Se concentrations and Se speciation in marine environments. In general, determining Se concentration and speciation in seawater is highly challenging due to very low Se levels ((sub)ng⋅L), whereas matrix elements interfering Se pre-concentration and detection are up to the g⋅L levels. In this study, we established a sensitive method for the determination of the various Se chemical fractions present in natural seawater, i.

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Background: This study aims to evaluate whether changes in therapeutic strategies have improved survival of patients diagnosed with hormone receptor positive (HR+), HER2 negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer (ABC) in real-world.

Methods: All 1950 patients systemically treated for HR+/HER2- ABC and diagnosed between 2008 and 2019 in eight hospitals were retrieved from the SONABRE Registry (NCT-03577197). Patients were categorized per three-year cohorts based on year of ABC diagnosis.

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Even though lake sediments are globally important organic carbon (OC) sinks, the controls on long-term OC storage in these sediments are unclear. Using a multiproxy approach, we investigate changes in diatom, green algae, and vascular plant biomolecules in sedimentary records from the past centuries across five temperate lakes with different trophic histories. Despite past increases in the input and burial of OC in sediments of eutrophic lakes, biomolecule quantities in sediments of all lakes are primarily controlled by postburial microbial degradation over the time scales studied.

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Emissions of volatile organic sulfur (S), selenium (Se), bromine (Br), and iodine (I) species from aquatic ecosystems represent an important source of these elements into the atmosphere. Available methods to measure these species are either not sensitive enough or not automated, which hinder a full understanding of species distribution and production mechanisms. Here, we present a sensitive and high-throughput method for the simultaneous and comprehensive quantification of S, Se, Br, and I volatile organic species in atmospheric and aqueous samples using a preconcentration step onto sorbent tubes and subsequent analysis by thermal desorption coupled to gas chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (TD-GC-ICP-MS).

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Purpose: We assessed the systemic treatment choices and outcomes in patients diagnosed with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2-positive (HER2 +) advanced breast cancer (ABC), for the first four lines of systemic therapy and by hormone receptor (HR) status.

Methods: We identified 330 patients diagnosed with HER2 + ABC in 2013-2018 in the Southeast of The Netherlands, of whom 64% with HR + /HER2 + and 36% with HR-/HER2 + disease. Overall survival (OS) from start of therapy was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

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Dietary deficiency of selenium is a global health threat related to low selenium concentrations in crops. Despite the chemical similarity of selenium to the two more abundantly studied elements sulfur and arsenic, the understanding of its accumulation in soils and availability for plants is limited. The lack of understanding of soil selenium cycling is largely due to the unavailability of methods to characterize selenium species in soils, especially the organic ones.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the gene expression changes during the perinatal period in rats, focusing on pancreatic development and beta cell replication after mothers consumed different diets (control vs. low-protein).
  • Results showed the control diet enhanced pathways related to lipid metabolism, while the low-protein diet affected gene regulation, apoptosis, and inflammation responses.
  • The findings highlight significant adaptations in pancreatic functions due to dietary changes, potentially aiding in understanding how to generate functional beta cells for therapeutic use.
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Purpose: The hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) are the main parameters in guiding systemic treatment choices in breast cancer, but can change during the disease course. This study aims to evaluate the biopsy rate and receptor subtype discordance rate in patients diagnosed with advanced breast cancer (ABC).

Methods: Patients diagnosed with ABC in seven hospitals in 2007-2018 were selected from the SOutheast Netherlands Advanced BREast cancer (SONABRE) registry.

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Article Synopsis
  • Encapsulation and transplantation of insulin-producing cells offer a potential cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D) without the need for immunosuppressive drugs, but existing biomaterials often cause harmful reactions that can hinder effectiveness.
  • A new nanofibrous device has been developed, featuring a thin alginate hydrogel coating that reduces fibrotic responses and enhances mass transfer, allowing for better cell function.
  • The device has shown promising results in long-term diabetes correction in mice and demonstrates the ability to scale and be retrieved, indicating its potential for clinical applications in T1D and other diseases.
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In August 2017, cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors combined with endocrine therapy have been reimbursed in the Netherlands for patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+), HER2 negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer (ABC). This study evaluates the implementation of CDK4/6 inhibitors and changes in treatment choices in the Netherlands. All patients diagnosed with HR+/HER2- ABC in 2009 to 2018 in seven hospitals were selected from the Southeast Netherlands Advanced Breast cancer (SONABRE) registry.

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Biological N fixation was key to the expansion of life on early Earth. The N-fixing microorganisms and the nitrogenase type used in the Proterozoic are unknown, although it has been proposed that the canonical molybdenum-nitrogenase was not used due to low molybdenum availability. We investigate N fixation in Lake Cadagno, an analogue system to the sulfidic Proterozoic continental margins, using a combination of biogeochemical, molecular and single cell techniques.

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Geogenic arsenic (As) contamination of groundwater is a health threat to millions of people worldwide, particularly in alluvial regions of South and Southeast Asia. Mitigation measures are often hindered by high heterogeneities in As concentrations, the cause(s) of which are elusive. Here we used a comprehensive suite of stable isotope analyses and hydrogeochemical parameters to shed light on the mechanisms in a typical high-As Holocene aquifer near Hanoi where groundwater is advected to a low-As Pleistocene aquifer.

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Diabetes is a serious chronic disease, which globally affects more than 400 million patients. Beta cell therapy has potential to serve as an effective cure to type 1 diabetes and several studies have already shown promising results in this regard. One of the major obstacles in cell therapy, however, is the hypoxic environment that therapeutic cells are subjected to immediately after the transplantation.

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Recently, we suggested that hypobromous acid (HOBr) is a sink for the marine volatile organic sulfur compound dimethyl sulfide (DMS). However, HOBr is also known to react with reactive moieties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) such as phenolic compounds to form bromoform (CHBr) and other brominated compounds. The reaction between HOBr and DMS may thus compete with the reaction between HOBr and DOM.

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