Subpermafrost Groundwater Modelling in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard:Paper presented at the 11th Northern Res. Basins Symposium/Workshop Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks, Alaska, USA - Aug. 18-22, 1997

Svalbard is a high arctic archipelago where the permafrost thickness is 150-450 m and almost continuous in ice-free areas. The model work was carried out in Ny-Ålesund, where the subpermafrost aquifers are recharged by water from the bottom of the Vestre Lovénbreen glacier. One main discharge spring is found at the entrance of an old coal mine. The computer code SUTRA has been used to simulate two-dimensional fluid movement and energy transport in the ground under steady state conditions. For the simulation, a cross section with unit thickness parallel to groundwater flow has been chosen. With the resulting output of SUTRA, contour maps of the pressure, hydraulic head, temperature and velocity have been made. Residence times for different situations have been determined to be15 years as a minimum. In general there is a good agreement between the physical reality and the simulation results.</jats:p

Transdiagnostic factors predicting the 2-year disability outcome in patients with anxiety and depressive disorders

Background: Both anxiety and depressive disorders are associated with significant long-term disability. Since experienced impairments vary between patients independent of diagnosis and disease severity, identifying transdiagnostic factors that predict the course of disability may provide new targets to reduce disability. This study examines transdiagnostic factors predicting the 2-year disability outcome in patients with anxiety and/or depressive disorders (ADD), focusing on potentially malleable factors.Methods: Six hundred fifteen participants with a current diagnosis of ADD from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) were included. Disability was assessed at baseline and after 2 years of follow-up, using the 32-item WHODAS II questionnaire. Transdiagnostic predictors of 2-year disability outcome were identified using linear regression analysis.Results: In univariable analyses, transdiagnostic factors associated with the 2-year disability outcome were locus of control (standardized β = -0.116, p = 0.011), extraversion (standardized β = -0.123 p = 0.004) and experiential avoidance (standardized β = 0.139, p = 0.001). In multivariable analysis, extraversion had a unique predictive value (standardized β = -0.143 p = 0.003). A combination of sociodemographic, clinical and transdiagnostic variables resulted in an explained variance (R2) of 0.090). The explained variance of a combination of transdiagnostic factors was 0.050.Conclusion: The studied transdiagnostic variables explain a small but unique part of variability in the 2-year disability outcome. Extraversion is the only malleable transdiagnostic factor predictive of the course of disability independent of other variables. Due to the small contribution to the variance in the disability outcome, the clinical relevance of targeting extraversion seems limited. However, its predictive value is comparable to that of accepted disease severity measures, supporting the importance of looking beyond using disease severity measures as predictors. Furthermore, studies including extraversion in combination with other transdiagnostic and environmental factors may elucidate the unexplained part of variability of the course of disability in patients with ADD.</p

The added value of daily diary data in 1- and 3-year prediction of psychopathology and psychotic experiences in individuals at risk for psychosis

This study aimed to assess whether adding information on psychological experiences derived from a daily diary to baseline cross-sectional data could improve short- (1-year) and long-term (3-years) prediction of psychopathology and positive psychotic experiences (PEs). We used 90-day daily diary data from 96 individuals in early subclinical risk stages for psychosis. Stepwise linear regression models were built for psychopathology and PEs at 1- and 3-years follow-up, adding: (1) baseline questionnaires, (2) the mean and variance of daily psychological experiences, and (3) individual symptom network density. We assessed whether similar results could be achieved with a subset of the data (7-14- and 30-days). The mean and variance of the diary improved model prediction of short- and long-term psychopathology and PEs, compared to prediction based on baseline questionnaires solely. Similar results were achieved with 7-14- and 30-day subsets. Symptom network density did not improve model prediction except for short-term prediction of PEs. Simple metrics, i.e., the mean and variance from 7 to 14 days of daily psychological experiences assessments, can improve short- and long-term prediction of both psychopathology and PEs in individuals in early subclinical stages for psychosis. Diary data could be a valuable addition to clinical risk prediction models for psychopathology development.</p

Neutral and Cationic Rare Earth Metal Alkyl and Benzyl Compounds with the 1,4,6-Trimethyl-6-pyrrolidin-1-yl-1,4-diazepane Ligand and Their Performance in the Catalytic Hydroamination/Cyclization of Aminoalkenes

A new neutral tridentate 1,4,6-trimethyl-6-pyrrolidin-1-yl-1,4-diazepane (L) was prepared. Reacting L with trialkyls M(CH2SiMe3)3(THF)2 (M = Sc, Y) and tribenzyls M(CH2Ph)3(THF)3 (M = Sc, La) yielded trialkyl complexes (L)M(CH2SiMe3)3 (M = Sc, 1; M = Y, 2) and tribenzyl complexes (L)M(CH2Ph)3 (M = Sc, 3; M = La, 4). Complexes 1 and 2 can be converted to their corresponding ionic compounds [(L)M(CH2SiMe3)2(THF)][B(C6H5)4] (M = Sc, Y) by reaction with [PhNMe2H][B(C6H5)4] in THF. Complexes 3 and 4 can be converted to cationic species [(L)M(CH2Ph)2]+ by reaction with [PhNMe2H][B(C6F5)4] in C6D5Br in the absence of THF. The neutral complexes 1-4 and their cationic derivatives were studied as catalysts for the hydroamination/cyclization of 2,2-diphenylpent-4-en-1-amine and N-methylpent-4-en-1-amine reference substrates and compared with ligand-free Sc, Y, and La neutral and cationic catalysts. The most effective catalysts in the series were the cationic L-yttrium catalyst (for 2,2-diphenylpent-4-en-1-amine) and the cationic lanthanum systems (for N-methylpent-4-en-1-amine). For the La catalysts, evidence was obtained for release of L from the metal during catalysis.

Evidence for insertional codemixing: mixed compounds and French nominal groups in Brussels Dutch

In this paper we analyse mixed compounds, such as legume+winkel ‘vegetable shop, greengrocery’ and winter+paletot ‘winter coat’ which contain a French and a Dutch element, and French nominal groups, such as carte d’identité ‘identity card’, and journal parlé ‘radio news’, which bilingual speakers from Brussels frequently insert into Brussels Dutch utterances. Using Muysken’s (2000) typology of bilingual speech, we claim that the mixed compounds and the nominal groups display the characteristics of insertional code-mixing. In addition, some evidence for the existence of a continuum between borrowing and code-switching can be obtained from these examples. As the multimorphemic units that are inserted into Dutch are neither single words, nor full constituents, their status in the lexicon raises interesting issues for researchers interested in the interface between syntax and the lexicon (see also Backus 2003). We try to argue that nominal groups such as carte d’identité and journal parlé are probably best seen as lexical templates or constructional idioms (Booij, 2002b). The insertion of French constructional idioms in Brussels Dutch represents an innovation in the lexical patterns that are available to speakers of this language, which is highly relevant for theories of language change

The ACE Project: a synopsis of in vivo studies to predict estrogenic mixture effects in freshwater and marine fish

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry - SETAC Europe 15th Annual Meeting, Lille, France, May 2005.This work is part of the ACE project (ACE, EVK1-CT-2001-100) which aim is to investigate multi-component mixtures of estrogenic compounds in aquatic ecosystems. Here we present a synopsis of in vivo data related with the joint estrogenic action of five estrogenic compounds (17ß-estradiol, ethynylestradiol, nonylphenol, octylphenol and bisphenol-A) on vitellogenesis in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). The studies were conducted with freshwater adult males and marine juveniles under flow through exposure conditions for two weeks. In the first step, fish were exposed to the five compounds individually in order to generate concentration- response curves. Therefore mixture effects were predicted on the basis of the potency of each compound by using the model of concentration addition (CA). Finally, the compounds were tested as a mixture at equipotent concentrations, and the observed mixture effects were compared to the predictions. The mixture studies showed an good agreement between observed and predicted effects and provided evidence that CA can be used as a predictive tool for the effect assessment of mixtures of (xeno)estrogens in freshwater or marine ecosystems. The differences/limitations of running in vivo mixture studies with freshwater and marine species will be discussed.Comissão Europeia (CE) - ACE project - ACE, EVK1-CT-2001-100

Pharmacokinetics of acute tryptophan depletion using a gelatin-based protein in male and female Wistar rats

The essential amino acid tryptophan is the precursor of the neurotransmitter serotonin. By depleting the body of tryptophan, brain tryptophan and serotonin levels are temporarily reduced. In this paper, several experiments are described in which dose and treatment effects of acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) using a gelatin-based protein–carbohydrate mixture were studied in male and female Wistar rats. Two or three doses of tryptophan depleting mixture resulted in 65–70% depletion after 2–4 h in males. ATD effects were similar in females, although females may return to baseline levels faster. Treatment effects after four consecutive days of ATD were similar to the effects of 1 day of treatment. Object recognition memory was impaired 2, 4, and 6 h after the first of two doses of ATD, suggesting that the central effects occurred rapidly and continued at least 6 h, in spite of decreasing treatment effects on plasma tryptophan levels at that time point. The method of acute tryptophan depletion described here can be used to study the relationship between serotonin and behaviour in both male and female rats

The Neuroscience of Sadness: A Multidisciplinary Synthesis and Collaborative Review for the Human Affectome Project

Sadness is typically characterized by raised inner eyebrows, lowered corners of the mouth, reduced walking speed, and slumped posture. Ancient subcortical circuitry provides a neuroanatomical foundation, extending from dorsal periaqueductal grey to subgenual anterior cingulate, the latter of which is now a treatment target in disorders of sadness. Electrophysiological studies further emphasize a role for reduced left relative to right frontal asymmetry in sadness, underpinning interest in the transcranial stimulation of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex as an antidepressant target. Neuroimaging studies – including meta-analyses – indicate that sadness is associated with reduced cortical activation, which may contribute to reduced parasympathetic inhibitory control over medullary cardioacceleratory circuits. Reduced cardiac control may – in part – contribute to epidemiological reports of reduced life expectancy in affective disorders, effects equivalent to heavy smoking. We suggest that the field may be moving toward a theoretical consensus, in which different models relating to basic emotion theory and psychological constructionism may be considered as complementary, working at different levels of the phylogenetic hierarchy