Erasmus University Rotterdam

About: Erasmus University Rotterdam is a education organization based out in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 35466 authors who have published 91288 publications receiving 4510972 citations. The organization is also known as: EUR.

DNA Double-Strand Break Repair: All's Well that Ends Well

Abstract: Breaks in both DNA strands are a particularly dangerous threat to genome stability. At a DNA double-strand break (DSB), potentially lost sequence information cannot be recovered from the same DNA molecule. However, simple repair by joining two broken ends, though inherently error prone, is preferable to leaving ends broken and capable of causing genome rearrangements. To avoid DSB-induced genetic disinformation and disruption of vital processes, such as replication and transcription, cells possess robust mechanisms to repair DSBs. Because all breaks are not created equal, the particular repair mechanism used depends largely on what is possible and needed based on the structure of the broken DNA. We argue that although categorizing different DSB repair mechanisms along pathways and subpathways can be conceptually useful, in cells flexible and reversible interactions among DSB repair factors form a web from which a nonpredetermined path to repair for any number of different DNA breaks will emerge.

The impact of job crafting on job demands, job resources, and well-being.

Abstract: This longitudinal study examined whether employees can impact their own well-being by crafting their job demands and resources. Based on the Job DemandsResources model, we hypothesized that employee job crafting would have an impact on work engagement, job satisfaction, and burnout through changes in job demands and job resources. Data was collected in a chemical plant at three time points with one month in between the measurement waves (N 288). The results of structural equation modeling showed that employees who crafted their job resources in the first month of the study showed an increase in their structural and social resources over the course of the study (2 months). This increase in job resources was positively related to employee well-being (increased engagement and job satisfaction, and decreased burnout). Crafting job demands did not result in a change in job demands, but results revealed direct effects of crafting challenging demands on increases in well-being. We conclude that employee job crafting has a positive impact on well-being and that employees therefore should be offered opportunities to craft their own jobs.

Rates and risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease Results from EURODEM pooled analyses

Abstract: Article abstract—Objective: To investigate the risk of AD associated with a family history of dementia, female gender, low levels of education, smoking, and head trauma. Background: These putative factors have been identified in crosssectional studies. However, those studies are prone to bias due to systematic differences between patients and control subjects regarding survival and how risk factors are recalled. Methods: The authors performed a pooled analysis of four European population-based prospective studies of individuals 65 years and older, with 528 incident dementia patients and 28,768 person-years of follow-up. Patients were detected by screening the total cohort with brief cognitive tests, followed by a diagnostic assessment of those who failed the screening tests. Dementia was diagnosed with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disrders, 3rd ed. (revised), and AD was diagnosed according to National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke‐Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria. Incident rates and relative risk (95% CI) express the association of a risk factor for dementia. Results: Incident rates for dementia and AD were similar across studies. The incidence of AD increased with age. At 90 years of age and older the incidence was 63.5 (95% CI, 49.7 to 81.0) per 1,000 person-years. Female gender, current smoking (more strongly in men), and low levels of education (more strongly in women) increased the risk of AD significantly. A history of head trauma with unconsciousness and family history of dementia did not increase risk significantly. Conclusion: Contrary to previous reports, head trauma was not a risk factor for AD, and smoking did not protect against AD. The association of family history with the risk of AD is weaker than previously estimated on the basis of cross-sectional studies. Female gender may modify the risk of AD, whether it be via biological or behavioral factors. NEUROLOGY 1999;52:78‐84 Previous studies suggest that family history of dementia, female gender, low levels of education, and head trauma increase the risk of AD. 1 Smoking, on the other hand, has been reported to reduce the risk of AD. 1 However, these previous studies are based on prevalent patients and might be flawed. Information about risk factors may be systematically different between patients and control subjects. Patient data must come from a proxy, who might recall the patient’s medical history differently than a proxy of a control subject or the control subject him- or herself. Also, the findings can reflect the contribution a factor makes to developing dementia as well as to surviving after the dementia starts. To date there are few, or inconsistent, reports of these risk factors derived from population-based follow-up studies that identify new patients of dementia in a cohort that is dementia free at baseline. Because the possibility is reduced for systematic differences in survival and risk factor recall between patients and control subjects, this design is preferred over one based on prevalent patients. In 1988, investigators working on European studies formed the European Studies of Dementia (EURODEM) network to harmonize the protocols used in their newly initiated, population-based follow-up studies on incident dementing diseases. 2 We report results of analyses based on pooling the data from the studies conducted in Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The analyses are based on 528 incident dementia patients and 28,768 person-years of follow-up. Methods. Study design. The individual studies include a population-based sample of persons aged 65 years and

Genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism identified through genome-wide analyses

Abstract: Very few genetic variants have been associated with depression and neuroticism, likely because of limitations on sample size in previous studies. Subjective well-being, a phenotype that is genetically correlated with both of these traits, has not yet been studied with genome-wide data. We conducted genome-wide association studies of three phenotypes: subjective well-being (n = 298,420), depressive symptoms (n = 161,460), and neuroticism (n = 170,911). We identify 3 variants associated with subjective well-being, 2 variants associated with depressive symptoms, and 11 variants associated with neuroticism, including 2 inversion polymorphisms. The two loci associated with depressive symptoms replicate in an independent depression sample. Joint analyses that exploit the high genetic correlations between the phenotypes (|ρ^| ≈ 0.8) strengthen the overall credibility of the findings and allow us to identify additional variants. Across our phenotypes, loci regulating expression in central nervous system and adrenal or pancreas tissues are strongly enriched for association.

An International Comparison

Abstract: This chapter reviews the empirical results of this study. Section 6.2 presents an international comparison of long-term supply relationships between the United States, Japan and Europe. The empirical evidence indicates that there are strong similarities between the three regions. We do find differences but these differences seem small, particularly relative to the expectations one may have on the basis of received view on systemic differences between “Japanese” and “Western” contracting. Thus, if indeed there were large differences between the Triad’s regions, there now appears to be considerable convergence towards a common underlying logic’ of long-term supply relationships. However, the underlying causal structures have not completely converged into one overall system, and section 6.3 discusses this. Despite all similarities, our results also show remaining differences between the regions. Each of the differences by itself do not explain much; however, when connecting the differences they provide new insights. Section 6.3 concludes that in the US perhaps a “Third Way” has been found. Section 6.4 presents an interpretation of the results. Our empirical results confirm the interactive nature of firm- and relation-specific characteristics. As we conclude, the interactions hint at a dynamic process and we identify various causal loops. These causal loops may lie at the heart of the working of long-term supply relationships. Section 6.5 presents a final review of this study. Among others, it provides several arguments beyond this study that may explain the strong similarities between the Triad’s regions.