A Review of PA-Antenna Co-design: Direct Matching, Harmonic Tuning and Power Combining

This article reviews the current state-of-the-art of active-integrated antennas co-designed with power amplifiers (PAs). Three strategies to improve output power and power-added efficiency are described using examples, namely direct matching between PA and antenna, tuning of harmonic reflections in the antenna, and in-antenna power combining...

Smart safe surfaces by antimicrobial solutions: coatings and electronics

Failure modes of conducting yarns in electronic-textile applications

Integration of electronic functionalities into textiles adds to the value of textiles. It allows measuring, detecting, actuating and treating or communicating with a body or object. These added values can render the smart textiles very useful, fun, supporting, protecting or even lifesaving. It is, however, important for the comfort, acceptance...

Implementation of client versus care-provider strategies to improve external cephalic version rates: A cluster randomized controlled trial

Onjective: To determine the effectiveness of a client or care-provider strategy to improve the implementation of external cephalic version. Design: Cluster randomized controlled trial.Setting: Twenty-five clusters; hospitals and their referring midwifery practices randomly selected in the Netherlands. Population: Singleton breech presentation...

Flexible and stretchable electronics for wearable health devices

Measuring the quality of human health and well-being is one of the key growth areas in our society. Preferably, these measurements are done as unobtrusive as possible. These sensoric devices are then to be integrated directly on the human body as a patch or integrated into garments. This requires the devices to be very thin, flexible and...

Consortium Instruments for integrated action (i4i)

Veel kennis over en ervaringen met IGB en KT was tot op heden gefragmenteerd, verspreid over diverse onderzoeksgroepen in Nederland. In het door het RIVM gecoördineerde consortium i4i komt deze kennis en ervaringen bij elkaar. Negen onderzoeksgroepen werken samen aan zowel conceptuele verheldering als praktische onderzoeksinstrumenten voor IGB...

Patients' and professionals' barriers and facilitators to external cephalic version for breech presentation at term, a qualitative analysis in the Netherlands

Objective: external cephalic version (ECV) is a relatively simple and safe manoeuvre and a proven effective approach in the reduction of breech presentation at term. There is professional consensus that ECV should be offered to all women with a fetus in breech presentation, but only up to 70% of women eligible for ECV undergo an ECV attempt. The...

Facilitators and barriers to external cephalic version for breech presentation at term among health care providers in the Netherlands: A quantitative analysis

OBJECTIVE: guidelines recommend that external cephalic version (ECV) should be offered to all women with a fetus in breech presentation at term. However, only 50-60% of the women receive an ECV attempt. We explored the determinants (barriers and facilitators) affecting the uptake of the guidelines among gynaecologists and midwives in the...

Flexible and stretchable electronics for wearable healthcare

Measuring the quality of human health and well-being is one of the key growth areas in our society. Preferably, these measurements are done as unobtrusive as possible. These sensoric devices are then to be integrated directly on the human body as a patch or integrated into garments. This requires the devices to be very thin, flexible and...

Implementation of external cephalic version in the Netherlands: A retrospective cohort study

Background: External cephalic version (ECV) reduces the rate of elective cesarean sections as a result of breech presentation. Several studies have shown that not all eligible women undergo an ECV attempt. The aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation of ECV in the Netherlands and to explain variation in implementation rates with...

Contraindications for external cephalic version in breech position at term: A systematic review

Objective. External cephalic version (ECV) is a safe and effective intervention that can prevent breech delivery, thus reducing the need for cesarean delivery. It is recommended in national guidelines. These guidelines also mention contraindications for ECV, and thereby restrict the application of ECV. We assessed whether the formulation of...

Landelijke implementatiestudie uitwendige versie: NVTAG/ZONMw symposium Implementatie 29 november 2012

Implementation of the external cephalic version in breech delivery. Dutch national implementation study of external cephalic version

Background: Breech presentation occurs in 3 to 4% of all term pregnancies. External cephalic version (ECV) is proven effective to prevent vaginal breech deliveries and therefore it is recommended by clinical guidelines of the Royal Dutch Organisation for Midwives (KNOV) and the Dutch Society for Obstetrics and Gynaecology (NVOG). Implementation...

Climate, Energy Security and Innovation An assessment of EU energy policy objectives.

The threefold objective for EU energy policies is the mitigation of climate change, the security of energy supply, and the promotion of the competitiveness of the EU economy. Possible synergies and trade-offs between the three related policy goals are discussed in this study by evaluating existing mitigation scenarios, insights from the...

Climate change mitigation and security of energy supply will benefit from technological innovation

Todays EU energy policies are evaluated with respect to their capacity to stimulate promising energy technologies so as to meet present EU objectives of mitigating climate change, securing energy supply and improving competitiveness. Many promising energy technologies may contribute simultaneously to curbing CO2 emissions and improving supply...

Widening the scope of policies to address climate change: directions for mainstreaming

Both mitigation of and adaptation to climate change require actions to be taken in many sectors of society, but so far this is hardly happening. This paper suggests possibilities for widening climate change policy by strengthening inter-linkages between climate policies and various relevant policy areas to mainstream climate change concerns. It...