Potential for up-scaling Nimr reed bed facilities, Oman : feasibility study

This report describes the findings of a feasibility study to treat oil contaminated water using reed beds, and consume the treated saline water using forestry. The feasibility study focused on the social, technical and economical feasibility of a project designed to process 45,000 m3 of water per day. Possible effects of a large scale operation on interactions between Petroleum Development Oman and local population are listed, and suggestions on the social processes involved are made. The economics of reed bed water treatment and water consumption through the use of forestry are determined and compared with the current practise of deep well disposal. The economics of the treatment-forestry system are more favorable than the economics of the deep well disposal. The technical analysis shows that the reed beds are able to treat water to remove hydrocarbons, and suggestions for management, design and development of the system are given

Metabolomics in Early Alzheimer's Disease: Identification of Altered Plasma Sphingolipidome Using Shotgun Lipidomics

The development of plasma biomarkers could facilitate early detection, risk assessment and therapeutic monitoring in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Alterations in ceramides and sphingomyelins have been postulated to play a role in amyloidogensis and inflammatory stress related neuronal apoptosis; however few studies have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the sphingolipidome in AD plasma using analytical platforms with accuracy, sensitivity and reproducibility.We prospectively analyzed plasma from 26 AD patients (mean MMSE 21) and 26 cognitively normal controls in a non-targeted approach using multi-dimensional mass spectrometry-based shotgun lipidomics to determine the levels of over 800 molecular species of lipids. These data were then correlated with diagnosis, apolipoprotein E4 genotype and cognitive performance. Plasma levels of species of sphingolipids were significantly altered in AD. Of the 33 sphingomyelin species tested, 8 molecular species, particularly those containing long aliphatic chains such as 22 and 24 carbon atoms, were significantly lower (p<0.05) in AD compared to controls. Levels of 2 ceramide species (N16:0 and N21:0) were significantly higher in AD (p<0.05) with a similar, but weaker, trend for 5 other species. Ratios of ceramide to sphingomyelin species containing identical fatty acyl chains differed significantly between AD patients and controls. MMSE scores were correlated with altered mass levels of both N20:2 SM and OH-N25:0 ceramides (p<0.004) though lipid abnormalities were observed in mild and moderate AD. Within AD subjects, there were also genotype specific differences.In this prospective study, we used a sensitive multimodality platform to identify and characterize an essentially uniform but opposite pattern of disruption in sphingomyelin and ceramide mass levels in AD plasma. Given the role of brain sphingolipids in neuronal function, our findings provide new insights into the AD sphingolipidome and the potential use of metabolomic signatures as peripheral biomarkers

Wat betekenen politieke keuzes voor de Nederlandse biodiversiteit?

Contains fulltext : 234418.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)6 p

Sensitivity of the agro-ecosystem in the Ganges Basin to inter-annual rainfall variability and associated changes in land use

The rate of growth in agricultural production has been decreasing in several regions of the world in recent years. The availability of water, which is one of the main inputs, is becoming limiting and more variable. In this article, we study the sensitivity of the agroecosystem to rainfall variability in order to identify vulnerable areas. We applied a longitudinal assessment of remote sensing time-series data, using the correlation between inter-annual rainfall anomalies and anomalies in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a proxy for crop production. With a novel approach, we then identified whether the sensitivity results from a variation in crop growth or from a deliberate adjustment in the cropping pattern, reflecting a coping strategy. In our case study area, the Ganges basin, 25% of the basin area showed a significant correlation (p