Meeting the 60-min physical activity guideline: Effect of operationalization

Purpose: To investigate the effect of guideline operationalization in terms of intensity threshold, bout duration, and days on the proportion of children meeting the health-related 60-min physical activity guideline using a subjective and an objective assessment method. Methods: Five hundred and twenty-one children (6-11 yr) completed a physical...

Empowerment of disability benefit claimants through an interactive website: Design of a randomized controlled trial

Background. Individuals claiming a disability benefit after long-term sickness absence, have to undergo medical disability assessments. These assessments, often carried out by specialized physicians, can be complicated by wrong expectations or defensive attitudes of disability benefit claimants. It is hypothesized that empowerment of these...

Inhibitors and activation markers of the haemostatic system during hormone therapy: A comparative study of oral estradiol (2 mg)/ dydrogesterone and estradiol (2 mg)/ trimegestone

Epidemiological studies have shown that hormone therapy (HT) increases the risk of venous thromboembolism in post menopausal women. The mechanism of this increased risk is unknown; however, activation of the haemostatic system is known to contribute to the pathogenesis of venous thromboembolism. In post-menopausal women the estrogen /progestogen...

Management of the neonate at the limits of viability: The Dutch viewpoint

Due to ever-improving medical technology over the course of the last century, the limit of viability has been lowered from around 32 weeks of gestation, first to 28 weeks and, in recent decades, to as low as less than 24 weeks. Long-term follow-up studies (Project on Preterm and Small-for- Gestational-Age Infants, Leiden Follow-up Project on...

Alcohol and ischaemic heart disease [7]

Behavioural and emotional problems in very preterm and very low birthweight infants at age 5 years

Background: Children born very preterm (VP; <32 weeks' gestation) or with very low birth weight (VLBW, <1500 g; hereafter called VP/VLBW) are at risk for behavioural and emotional problems during school age and adolescence. At school entrance these problems may hamper academic functioning, but evidence on their occurrence at this age in VP/VLBW...

Biochemical analysis of the articular cartilage and subchondral and trabecular bone of the metacarpophalangeal joint of horses with early osteoarthritis

Objective - To assess whether site-related changes in biochemical composition are present in the cartilage and subchondral and trabecular bone of the metacarpophalangeal joint of horses with early osteoarthritis. Sample population - Right metacarpophalangeal joints from 59 mature warmblood horses. Procedure - Biochemical data (cross-link, amino...

Assessment of readiness to change in patients with osteoarthritis. Development and application of a new questionnaire

Objective: To develop a self-report measure for assessment of the stage of change in patients with osteoarthritis, in order to identify patients who would benefit from a self-management programme. Methods: According to the 'stages of change' model a questionnaire was developed with three groups of items corresponding to the precontemplation...

Area deprivation and child psychosocial problems. A national cross-sectional study among school-aged children

Background. We examined the association of area deprivation with the occurrence of psychosocial problems among children aged 4-16 in a representative national sample of children based on standardised measures of parent-reported problems and diagnoses made by doctors and nurses working in child healthcare (child health professionals, CHPs)....

Embryotoxicity and teratogenicity study with α-cyclodextrin in rats

The embryotoxicity/teratogenicity of α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) was examined in Wistar Crl:(WI)WU BR rats. α-CD was fed at dietary concentrations of 0, 1.5, 5, 10, or 20% to groups of 25 pregnant female rats from day 0 to 21 of gestation. An additional group received a diet with 20% lactose. The additions to the diet of α-CD and lactose were made at...

Is avoidant coping independent of disease status and stable over time in patients with ankylosing spondylitis?

Objective: To determine whether avoidant coping in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is independent of disease status and whether it is stable over time. Methods: 658 patients with AS completed a postal questionnaire on health status, including pain and stiffness (BASDAI), physical function (BASFI), and coping (CORS). In CORS, "decreasing activities...

TR3 orphan receptor is expressed in vascular endothelial cells and mediates cell cycle arrest

Objective - Endothelial cells play a pivotal role in vascular homeostasis. In this study, we investigated the function of the nerve growth factor-induced protein-B (NGFI-B) subfamily of nuclear receptors comprising the TR3 orphan receptor (TR3), mitogen-induced nuclear orphan receptor (MINOR), and nuclear orphan receptor of T cells (NOT) in...

Development and evaluation of a follow up assessment of preterm infants at 5 years of age

Background: Long term follow up shows a high frequency of developmental disturbances in preterm survivors of neonatal intensive care formerly considered non-disabled. Aims: To develop and validate an assessment tool that can help paediatricians to identify before 6 years of age which survivors have developmental disturbances that may interfere...

Precision, comfort and mechanical performance of the Quadriso-tester, a quadriceps force measuring device

The mechanical performance, repeatability and comfort of the Quadrisotester, which assesses isometric knee extensor muscle strength, were examined. Twenty healthy subjects and 20 patients treated for unilateral anterior ligamenta cruciata insufficiency were tested. Intra-rater repeatability was determined by the testing and retesting of subjects...

Evaluatie en validatie van perinatale-sterfte-audit door terugkoppeling naar zorgverleners [Evaluation and validation of a perinatal death audit by means of feedback to the caregivers]

Objective. To evaluate a perinatal audit procedure by communicating the results to the caregivers (midwives and obstetricians) involved, in order to determine whether the audit led to specific suggestions for improving practice and whether evaluation of the panel assessments by caregivers leads to a different evaluation of the audit process....

Meat and dairy food consumption and breast cancer: A pooled analysis of cohort studies

Background. More than 20 studies have investigated the relation between meat and dairy consumption and breast cancer risk with conflicting results. Our objective was evaluate the risk of breast cancer associated with meat and dairy food consumption and to assess whether non-dietary risk factors modify the relation. Methods. We combined the...