Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

EXPRESS: Bayesian networks to estimate prognosis in vascular cognitive impairment and small vessel disease: integrated analyses of interdependent contributors to multiple outcomes

BACKGROUND: Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and small vessel disease (SVD) involve interconnected factors influencing multiple outcomes, also beyond cognitive decline. Bayesian networks (BNs) can help unravel these complex interrelations, which we demonstrate in this proof-of...

Longitudinal Circulating Nerve Growth Factor in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: An Exploratory Study of Postoperative Recurrence and First-Line Disease Control

Nerve growth factor (NGF) signaling is involved in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) neurotropism, perineural invasion, pain, and tumor-stromal crosstalk, but its value as a circulating biomarker remains poorly defined. We retrospectively analyzed 51 patients with PDAC who...

Big data and psychiatry: advances, constraints and future directions.

Early work in psychiatry research, often involving single sites, small samples, and limited variables, has shifted to contemporary research involving multiple sites, large samples, and many variables. Such research raises important questions, including concerns about data quality...

Moving Beyond Text: Rethinking Audiovisual Method in the Study of Lived Religion

While there is growing recognition of film’s role in shaping and illustrating beliefs—especially narratively and artistically—there remains limited academic engagement within religious studies practically working with audiovisual content more generally. This article attempts to a...

How to Establish a Reference Interval: A Practical Approach.

BACKGROUND: Establishing accurate reference intervals (RIs) is essential for interpreting clinical chemistry laboratory test results and ensuring clinical relevance. The aim of this review is to provide a practical guide to determine RIs using direct and indirect methods. CONTENT...

Hot-springs through time, and how to find them

Hot-springs have fascinated geologists including James Hutton for centuries. Here we synthesise data collected over timescales from centuries to days to reveal rules governing hot-springs, including where and when they occur. Data reveal waters dominantly sourced from the surface...

Infections in MonumenTAL-1: a plain language summary of talquetamab treatment for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma

Plain Language SummaryWhat is this summary about?This summary describes infection and immune cell data of participants receiving talquetamab for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) in the MonumenTAL-1 study.What were the results?Almost 60% of participants receiving talque...

Perception of the upright with tilted and rotating distractors in the fore- and background

To perceive orientation relative to gravity, we combine sensory information with weights proportional to each cue’s reliability. However, reliability alone does not fully determine a cue’s weight. When asking observers to orient a visual rod parallel to the orientation of gravity...

Commerce, Cities, and Princes: The Institutional Tradition and the Premodern Low Countries

ABSTRACT This article evaluates the application of New Institutional Economics (NIE) to history (the institutional tradition), focusing on its main theoretical contributions and criticisms. It examines the pitfalls of the institutional tradition and looks at the recent historiogr...

Development of a checklist of characteristics to help identify predatory journals: a Delphi study

This is a Delphi study that aims to achieve expert consensus on the most important characteristics for identifying predatory journals. The results will be used to develop a checklist that may support researchers, editors, librarians, institutions, and policymakers when assessing...

Understanding Individual Differences in Prosocial Risk-Taking During Adolescence The Roles of Prosociality, Risk-Taking, and Social Orientation

Abstract Prosocial risk-taking, helping others at uncertain personal costs, has been proposed to emerge from the intersection of prosociality and risk-taking, suggesting that prosocial risk-taking is most likely to occur when adolescents are both motivated to help others and will...

From Heteroclinic Loops to Homoclinic Snaking in Reversible Systems: Rigorous Forcing through Computer-Assisted Proofs

Abstract. Homoclinic snaking is a widespread phenomenon observed in many pattern-forming systems. Demonstrating its occurrence in nonperturbative regimes has proven difficult, although a forcing theory has been developed based on the identification of patterned front solutions. T...

Radical Disconnection Logic Enables Direct Conversion of α-Amino Acids into Differentiated Vicinal Diamines

Abstract Functional group interconversions (FGIs) are foundational to synthesis, yet classical acid-to-aminomethyl transformations remain intrinsically step- and redox-intensive. Here we introduce a radical disconnection strategy that enables the direct conversion of α-amino acid...

Connecting the dots; disseminated histoplasmosis mimicking an infliximab-induced sarcoid-like reaction in anti-PL7 antisynthetase syndrome —a case report

Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection caused by Histoplasma capsulatum . Immunosuppressed patients are at risk of developing severe disseminated disease. We report a case of disseminated histoplasmosis resulting most likely from reactivation of a latent infection more than four de...

The PTPN1/N2 Peptide Inhibitor Achieves Potent, Long-Acting Glycemic Control and Weight-Loss Dual Efficacy in Mice

Abstract Type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity are closely linked metabolic disorders driven by insulin and leptin resistance. Current long-acting therapies capable of addressing both conditions are dominated by incretin-based agents, which primarily achieve efficacy through appet...

digitalMLPA EZtec-MS: A new highly multiplexed DNA probe-based technique for neonatal screening

Abstract Decreasing DNA sequencing costs has paved the way to the use of next generation sequencing (NGS) to expand the number of conditions tested in routine newborn screening (NBS) programs. Expanding NBS programs by NGS, however, raises technical, ethical and economic concerns...

Discussing menopausal symptoms at work and associations with taboo, symptom severity, and need for recovery after work

Objective: Although the impact of menopausal symptoms at work is increasingly recognized, it remains unclear to what extent and with whom menopausal symptoms that limit work functioning are discussed. We examined this and explored associations with taboo, symptom severity, and ne...

The spritsail revolution: Contemporary debate on the introduction of sailing technology at sea and its importance for maritime trade in the sixteenth-century Netherlands

The introduction of the spritsail on small seagoing vessels in the 1530s was considered a breakthrough by contemporaries. Concerned about their small crews, the central government of the Habsburg Netherlands in Brussels feared that these vessels would be easy targets for enemies...

Comparative genomics of Sympodiorosea identifies genome evolution mediated through selective pressure on the metabolic gene repertoire

Abstract Biological interactions involving host-associated fungi are driven by chemistry shaped over evolutionary time. For antagonistic fungi, specialization often involves acquiring genes for novel secretions—including proteins and specialized metabolites—that mediate nutrient...

Genome-wide analysis of social behaviour across social domains, reporters and developmental stages: a meta-regression approach

Abstract Social behaviour is a heritable trait linked to well-being and mental health, yet it varies across social context, including social domains, informants and development, which may shape its underlying genomic architecture. Here, we conducted a genome-wide meta-regression...