The Netherlands took up e-Government development relatively early and was considered to be one of the leading nations in e-Government developments. In recent years, it has slipped back in the various international benchmarks, and also other signs show that the country no longer is at the front of e-Service development. This paper discusses possible causes for the decline of Dutch eService deliv...

Discrete{time analysis (DTA) is a modelling technique that is mainly applied to the analysis of communication systems. In this paper, we show how DTA can be adopted to the numerical analysis of manufacturing systems. The modelling concepts of DTA are introduced and the advantages of DTA over other methods like discrete{event simulation are indicated. We apply DTA to two sample applications, nam...

BACKGROUND Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB) is a threat to global tuberculosis control. A significant fitness cost has been associated with DR strains from specific lineages. Evaluation of the influence of the competing drug susceptible strains on fitness of drug resistant strains may have an important bearing on understanding the spread of MDR TB. The aim of this study was to evaluat...

Background The majority of the patients affected by a new variant of endemic pemphigus foliaceus in El Bagre, Colombia (El Bagre EPF or pemphigus Abreu-Manu), have experienced vision problems; we have previously reported several ocular abnormalities. Methods Here, we aimed to investigate reactivity to optic nerves in these patients. We utilized bovine, rat and mouse optic nerves, and performe...

Seasonal flooding compels some birds that breed in aquatic habitats in Amazonia to undertake annual migrations, yet we know little about how the complex landscape of the Amazon region is used seasonally by these species. The possibility of trans-Andes migration for Amazonian breeding birds has largely been discounted given the high geographic barrier posed by the Andean Cordillera and the deser...

Data on genotypic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is important to understand its epidemiology, human adaptation, clinical phenotypes, and drug resistance. This study aimed to characterize MTBC clinical isolates circulating in a predominantly pastoralist area in Ethiopia, a country where tuberculosis is the second leading cause of mortality. Culture of sputum samples colle...