Maastricht University

Crystalline/amorphous silicon and silica Bragg reflectors for gravitational wave detectors

Coating thermal noise is a major source of noise in gravitational wave detection. In order to reduce this noise, we investigate the use of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers as Bragg reflectors. First, we show different architectures, such as multi-SOI as top and bottom layers, in...

Interval Scheduling Games with Color-Based Concurrent Jobs

We consider a game theoretic variant of an interval scheduling problem. Every job is associated with a length, a weight, and a color. Each player controls all the jobs of a specific color, and needs to decide on a processing interval for each of its jobs. Jobs of the same color c...

One-Pot Aqueous Assembly of Sulfimides from Thiols, Alkyl Halides, and Oxaziridines

A sequential one-pot method for the aqueous synthesis of sulfimides from thiols, alkyl halides, and an oxaziridine nitrogen-transfer reagent is reported. Thiols are first S-alkylated under aqueous conditions, and the resulting sulfides are converted directly into sulfimides witho...

CREM Marks TCR-Driven T-Cell Activation and Associates with Favorable Prognosis in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Single-Cell and Bulk Transcriptomic Study

Although papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is widely considered an immunologically cold tumor, detectable T-cell infiltration can influence disease progression in selected patients. Previous bulk analyses have linked cAMP-responsive element modulator (CREM) expression to a favora...

Multimodal prehabilitation versus no prehabilitation to improve functional capacity, reduce postoperative complications and improve quality of life in colorectal cancer surgery

OBJECTIVES: This is a protocol for a Cochrane review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the benefits and harms of a multimodal prehabilitation programme versus no prehabilitation with respect to functional capacity, postoperative outcomes, and health-relat...

Streaming platform games: construction of the core

Abstract Streaming platforms offer subscribers unlimited access to content against a periodic subscription fee. To address the problem of dividing the revenues of the platform in a stable way among the content creators, we model these situations as cooperative streaming platform...

Functional Characterization of Myelodysplastic Syndrome by Multiparameter Flow Cytometry: The Clinical Synergy Between Ki-67 and Bcl-2 and Their Potential Role in Diagnostics and Personalized Therapy

The diagnosis and clinical management of myelodysplastic neoplasms are increasingly challenged by the disease’s inherent heterogeneity, particularly with respect to the diagnosis of low-grade variants. While standardized flow cytometric protocols traditionally rely on static biom...

AI-generated food stimuli match real counterparts in perceived healthiness and calorie content but not in realism or willingness to eat

Abstract Visual food stimuli are widely used in food perception and evaluation research, but are often limited by a lack of control of confounding variables. AI-generated food images may be a viable but yet understudied alternative. In a within-subject online experiment, 87 parti...

Reduced Joint Range of Motion in Nursing Home Residents: A Documentation Gap With Functional Implications

Objectives To ascertain to what extent reduced range of motion (ROM) and tender joints identified through a standardized physical examination were documented in the medical records of nursing home residents and to describe functional dependence and pain scores in relation to docu...

Prospective annual evaluation of sports motor performance, BMI and social index in Swiss first graders over a period of 12 years

Abstract Understanding factors that influence children’s motor development is of major public health relevance, given its association with physical activity, health trajectories, and long-term well-being. This study evaluates neuromotor development alongside environmental factors...

Thermodynamic characterization of Lewis acid–base interactions on carbon nanomaterials: Validation and Universality of the Hamieh five-parameter model

Understanding the Lewis acid–base properties of carbon materials is essential for predicting adsorption behavior, catalytic performance, and interfacial interactions. In this work, eight carbon materials—graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, untreated carbon fiber, ox...

Platelet Reactivity and Sex Differences: Clinical Implications for Women

Platelets are central to hemostasis and thrombosis. Excessive platelet activation contributes to arterial thrombotic events, including myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and complications of peripheral artery disease, whereas excessive platelet inhibition increases bleeding...

Growing appetites: the impact of vegetable-rich school meals on child nutrition, cognition, and well-being

Typical lunch meals consumed by Dutch children fall short of national dietary guidelines. The average vegetable intake during lunch is around 8 g, contributing to inadequate overall vegetable consumption in over half of children under 12. A school-based lunch programme offering v...

How High is the Bar? Pension Fund Benchmark Choices in Real Assets

Abstract This paper examines how defined benefit pension funds select and revise performance benchmarks for real assets, including private real estate, listed REITs, infrastructure, commodities, and natural resources. Using data from CEM Benchmarking, we document substantial hete...

Technical note: reconstructing dose distributions from manually planned electron boosts in breast radiotherapy

Purpose In breast radiotherapy, delivery of manually-calculated electron boosts limits retrospective dose–response analyses as dose distribution is unavailable. This work evaluates the feasibility of reconstructing dose distributions from manually planned electron boosts in breas...

Crossing effects in the tactile temporal order judgment task: a meta-analysis

Abstract The tactile temporal order judgment (TOJ) task is widely used in multisensory neuroscience. Participants judge which of two tactile stimuli, one on each hand, came first. A key finding is that TOJ performance declines when the arms are crossed, likely due to interactions...

The Dutch cardiomyopathy registry (DCR); rationale and registry design

BACKGROUND: Cardiomyopathies are important causes of arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, and heart failure. With accumulating knowledge in clinical, genetic, and molecular phenotyping, the number of distinct disease entities is growing. There is a need for broad, inclusive, high-q...

Exploring patients’ experiences and perceptions of manipulation under anesthesia for stiffness after total knee arthroplasty: a qualitative study

Purpose To gain in-depth insight into the experiences and perceptions of patients requiring manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) for persistent stiffness after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Material and methods A pragmatic qualitative study using the interpretive description appro...

Multicentre performance and consistency of two deep learning models for malignancy probability estimation of incidental pulmonary nodules

Abstract Objectives A screening-trained deep learning (DL) model (DL1) for pulmonary nodule malignancy probability estimation on CT previously demonstrated good discrimination on a single-centre dataset of incidental nodules. An updated DL model (DL2) was trained on both screenin...

Molecular Rotors: From Newtonian Fluids to Functional Materials as Viscosity and Temperature Sensing Tools

ABSTRACT Molecular rotors (MRs) are a distinctive class of fluorescent molecules whose photophysical properties are influenced by their surrounding environment, making them valuable as viscosity nanosensors. However, interpreting their fluorescence responses in complex systems po...