Radboud University Nijmegen

About: Radboud University Nijmegen is a education organization based out in Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Randomized controlled trial. The organization has 35417 authors who have published 83035 publications receiving 3285064 citations. The organization is also known as: Catholic University of Nijmegen & Radboud University.

Sequence variants at the TERT-CLPTM1L locus associate with many cancer types.

Abstract: The common sequence variants that have recently been associated with cancer risk are particular to a single cancer type or at most two. Following up on our genome-wide scan of basal cell carcinoma, we found that rs401681[C] on chromosome 5p15.33 satisfied our threshold for genome-wide significance (OR = 1.25, P = 3.7 x 10(-12)). We tested rs401681 for association with 16 additional cancer types in over 30,000 cancer cases and 45,000 controls and found association with lung cancer (OR = 1.15, P = 7.2 x 10(-8)) and urinary bladder, prostate and cervix cancer (ORs = 1.07-1.31, all P < 4 x 10(-4)). However, rs401681[C] seems to confer protection against cutaneous melanoma (OR = 0.88, P = 8.0 x 10(-4)). Notably, most of these cancer types have a strong environmental component to their risk. Investigation of the region led us to rs2736098[A], which showed stronger association with some cancer types. However, neither variant could fully account for the association of the other. rs2736098 corresponds to A305A in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) protein and rs401681 is in an intron of the CLPTM1L gene.

Effectiveness of empathy in general practice: a systematic review

Abstract: Background Empathy as a characteristic of patient–physician communication in both general practice and clinical care is considered to be the backbone of the patient–physician relationship Although the value of empathy is seldom debated, its effectiveness is little discussed in general practice This literature review explores the effectiveness of empathy in general practice Effects that are discussed are: patient satisfaction and adherence, feelings of anxiety and stress, patient enablement, diagnostics related to information exchange, and clinical outcomes Aim To review the existing literature concerning all studies published in the last 15 years on the effectiveness of physician empathy in general practice Design and setting Systematic literature search Method Searches of PubMed, EMBASE, and PsychINFO databases were undertaken, with citation searches of key studies and papers Original studies published in English between July 1995 and July 2011, containing empirical data about patient experience of GPs’ empathy, were included Qualitative assessment was applied using Giacomini and Cook’s criteria Results After screening the literature using specified selection criteria, 964 original studies were selected; of these, seven were included in this review after applying quality assessment There is a good correlation between physician empathy and patient satisfaction and a direct positive relationship with strengthening patient enablement Empathy lowers patients’ anxiety and distress and delivers significantly better clinical outcomes Conclusion Although only a small number of studies could be used in this search, the general outcome seems to be that empathy in the patient–physician communication in general practice is of unquestionable importance

A highly abundant bacteriophage discovered in the unknown sequences of human faecal metagenomes

Abstract: Metagenomics, or sequencing of the genetic material from a complete microbial community, is a promising tool to discover novel microbes and viruses. Viral metagenomes typically contain many unknown sequences. Here we describe the discovery of a previously unidentified bacteriophage present in the majority of published human faecal metagenomes, which we refer to as crAssphage. Its ~97 kbp genome is six times more abundant in publicly available metagenomes than all other known phages together; it comprises up to 90% and 22% of all reads in virus-like particle (VLP)-derived metagenomes and total community metagenomes, respectively; and it totals 1.68% of all human faecal metagenomic sequencing reads in the public databases. The majority of crAssphage-encoded proteins match no known sequences in the database, which is why it was not detected before. Using a new co-occurrence profiling approach, we predict a Bacteroides host for this phage, consistent with Bacteroides-related protein homologues and a unique carbohydrate-binding domain encoded in the phage genome.

The effect of host genetics on the gut microbiome

Abstract: The gut microbiome is affected by multiple factors, including genetics. In this study, we assessed the influence of host genetics on microbial species, pathways and gene ontology categories, on the basis of metagenomic sequencing in 1,514 subjects. In a genome-wide analysis, we identified associations of 9 loci with microbial taxonomies and 33 loci with microbial pathways and gene ontology terms at P < 5 × 10-8. Additionally, in a targeted analysis of regions involved in complex diseases, innate and adaptive immunity, or food preferences, 32 loci were identified at the suggestive level of P < 5 × 10-6. Most of our reported associations are new, including genome-wide significance for the C-type lectin molecules CLEC4F-CD207 at 2p13.3 and CLEC4A-FAM90A1 at 12p13. We also identified association of a functional LCT SNP with the Bifidobacterium genus (P = 3.45 × 10-8) and provide evidence of a gene-diet interaction in the regulation of Bifidobacterium abundance. Our results demonstrate the importance of understanding host-microbe interactions to gain better insight into human health.

3d x-ray-absorption lines and the 3d94fn+1 multiplets of the lanthanides.

Abstract: We have measured and calculated the 3d (${M}_{4}$,5) absorption spectra for all the rare-earth metals, as well as the full 3${d}^{9}$4${f}^{n+1}$ multiplets for the early and late rare earths. The quality of agreement between theory and experiment is excellent, except for Sm. In x-ray-absorption spectroscopy (XAS), only dipole selected lines are seen but all multiplet effects can be observed in x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The line shapes and 3d-4f interactions are discussed. Our results provide an improved basis for use of the 3d XAS spectra for studies of ``mixed-valence'' systems.