Dr. F.P. Fischer-Stichting (Netherlands)

Lumbopelvic-hip motions in the sagittal plane are critical in distinguishing between individuals with Low Back Pain (LBP) and healthy counterparts. Assessment of these motions involves evaluation of the range of motion, timing, coordination, alignment, and functional performance. Traditional, golden standard devices, like optical motion capture systems, are costly and limited to lab settings. Alternatively, Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) potentially offer an affordable solution that allows movement assessment in daily life. This cross-sectional study compares two IMU-based measurement methods (2 versus 3 sensors) with optical motion capture to assess the sagittal lumbopelvic-hip range of motion (RoM) during extension and flexion motions in individuals with nonspecific chronic LBP and healthy controls. The primary objective was to establish the clinimetric measurement accuracy of IMU-based methods by assessing their concurrent validity with optical motion capture. Secondary aims included assessment time differences and measurement errors. Strong positive correlations were shown between optical motion capture and both IMU-based measurement methods for flexion and extension RoM and the measurement timing. Minimal measurement errors were observed. For measuring both RoM and timing of measuring RoM, the IMU method with 3 sensors showed slightly better accuracy than the IMU method with 2 sensors. This cross-sectional study successfully established the clinimetric measurement validity and accuracy of IMU-based methods in assessing lumbopelvic-hip mobility in individuals with nonspecific low back pain and healthy controls. Revised Sentence: Based on our findings, low-cost IMU-based methods can be validly utilized in both daily clinical practice and clinical research for the assessment of lumbopelvic-hip motion.

Because this conference volume is devoted to the Moravian movement as an impulse for religious and cultural revival in the 18th century, it also looks at its impact and reception into the 19th century.I consider it a challenge to take a long-term view of a period before and after the revolutions of the Napoleonic era, including the religious regime changes that were linked to it.Confessional states that gave one church a dominant position were transformed into national states in which several religious groups could more or less exist in liberty, equality, and fraternity.How could a relatively new movement in Western Christianity exert such a significant influence on this development?This is the broader question that I would like to address specifically for the Netherlands, the small neighbor of the great empire from which the Moravian phenomenon conquered the world. 1 Every historian who works in the field of Dutch Moravian history is indebted to the theologian Wilhelm Lütjeharms.Trained as an aspiring missionary in Herrnhut and Utrecht, he wrote his dissertation in 1935, after ample research in the archives and other primary sources. 2 In this book, he highlighted the Philadelphian ideal of Zinzendorf

Tortoises inhabit arid regions where they may represent a significant herbivorous component, but are among the most threatened of tetrapod groups. Studying tortoise diets can help predict potential trophic disruptions following extinctions of tortoise populations, and inform conservation. We studied the diet of Karoo dwarf tortoises (Chersobius boulengeri), an endangered endemic of the arid Nama and Succulent Karoo biomes in South Africa, using vegetation analysis, DNA metabarcoding, morphological evaluation of faeces, a germination trial, and focal feeding observations. DNA metabarcoding was highly successful in the identification of dietary items. Karoo dwarf tortoises fed on a broad diet, including approximately 10 taxa eaten frequently. Specifically, doll's roses (five species in the genus Hermannia) were eaten more frequently than would be expected based on their availability, whereas grasses were rejected, for a dietary Proportional Similarity Index of 0.31–0.38. Dietary selection was likely related to water and nutrient contents of plant taxa. At least four plant species (including doll's roses) germinated from faecal samples, suggesting mutualistic relationships with Karoo dwarf tortoises. The habitat preference of Karoo dwarf tortoises (i.e., well-structured rocky terrain) may provide germination microsites with ample shade and run-off water to benefit seedling recruitment in an arid environment.

Abstract Ultrastructures of chelonian eggshells show wide interspecific variation, which might, in part, reflect requirements to protect embryos in various incubation environments. Relationships be...

Ultrastructures of chelonian eggshells show wide interspecific variation, which might, in part, reflect requirements to protect embryos in various incubation environments. Relationships between eggshell ultrastructures and incubation environments are poorly understood. Using scanning electron microscopy, we examined ultrastructures of eggshells from wild and captive Speckled Dwarf Tortoises (Chersobius signatus), including shells from hatched and undeveloped eggs. Speckled Dwarf Tortoises produce multiple single-egg clutches during a short breeding season in spring, and bury their eggs in shallow nests that experience high temperatures and low water potentials. In light of this harsh incubation environment, we expected thick calcareous layers to minimize water loss during incubation. However, wild and captive eggshells had thin calcareous layers (mean values ranging from 125.1 to 148.3 µm) that lacked the multiple crystallite layers and cuticles found in several other tortoise species. We hypothesize that thin calcareous layers in eggshells of Speckled Dwarf Tortoises might be related to the production of multiple clutches within a short breeding season, leaving little time for the calcification of each eggshell. The benefits of producing multiple clutches might outweigh the benefits of a thick eggshell. Hatched eggshells had porous crystallite cores, and the shell membrane of hatched eggshells was usually separated from the calcareous layer. These characteristics are consistent with calcium absorption from the eggshell by developing embryos, resulting in shorter crystallite heights in shells of captive hatched compared to undeveloped eggs.

There is a lack of data on the progression from a healthy obese phenotype toward an unhealthy obese phenotype and the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Our aim was to assess the development of MetS 3 years after screening in centrally obese individuals with a healthy obese phenotype and to evaluate the usefulness of repeated screening. Eighty-eight individuals (mean age 47 years, 88% female) with central obesity as their only MetS component (ATP III criteria) at baseline screening were re-evaluated for MetS status after 3 years. At follow-up, the cardiometabolic risk profile in centrally obese individuals with a healthy phenotype showed a tendency toward deterioration. Thirty-two percent developed at least one additional MetS component, 7% had developed MetS. Nobody had developed type 2 diabetes. An increased triglyceride level (n = 16) and an increased blood pressure (n = 18) were the components most often present at follow-up. The people developing additional MetS components had a lower education level compared with the group that preserved the healthy centrally obese phenotype (80 vs. 71% lower educated, P = 0.35). They also had slightly worse baseline levels of the risk factors. The number of centrally obese individuals developing an unhealthy phenotype in this relatively short follow-up period emphasizes the need for a regular surveillance of cardiometabolic parameters in centrally obese individuals. However, it is questionable whether a repeated screening for type 2 diabetes every 3 years, as recommended by the American Diabetes Association, in this category of patients is appropriate.