Onderzoek naar de verbetering van tongvangsten in de outrigvisserij

De laatste jaren is de boomkorvisserij onder druk komen te staan vanwege de effecten van deze methode van vissen op het mariene ecosysteem. De recente stijging van gasolieprijzen en daarmee samenhangende brandstofkosten van rond de 0.20 €/ltr tot ca. 0.70 €/ltr brengen de rendabiliteit van deze visserijsector in gevaar. Er wordt dan ook betwijfelt of de huidige boomkorvisserij nog toekomst heeft . Om deze redenen zoeken vissers naar alternatieve vangstmethoden, zoals de ‘outrig’ visserij. Deze methode, waarbij met een bordentrawl vanuit de gieken van een boomkorschip wordt gevist levert een aanzienlijke brandstofbesparing op, maar de vangst van tong is doorgaans minder door geringer bodemcontact

Praktijknetwerk Sumwing Zuid

De SumWing is een recente aanpassing van het conventionele boomkortuig. Het vistuig heeft geen sloffen meer en wordt op de bodem gehouden door middel van een taster. Dit levert een brandstofbesparing op. Dit nieuwe tuig is aanvankelijk ontwikkeld voor de vlakke grond in de noordelijke Noordzee. In dit project is gekeken hoe dit vistuig geschikt kan worden gemaakt voor het vissen ‘in de punten’ (d.w.z. ongelijke visgronden met zandribbels) in de zuidelijke Noordzee

The impact of diabetes on the pathogenesis of sepsis

Diabetes is associated with an increased susceptibility to infection and sepsis. Conflicting data exist on whether the mortality of patients with sepsis is influenced by the presence of diabetes, fuelling the ongoing debate on the benefit of tight glucose regulation in patients with sepsis. The main reason for which diabetes predisposes to infection appears to be abnormalities of the host response, particularly in neutrophil chemotaxis, adhesion and intracellular killing, defects that have been attributed to the effect of hyperglycaemia. There is also evidence for defects in humoral immunity, and this may play a larger role than previously recognised. We review the literature on the immune response in diabetes and its potential contribution to the pathogenesis of sepsis. In addition, the effect of diabetes treatment on the immune response is discussed, with specific reference to insulin, metformin, sulphonylureas and thiazolidinediones

An early history of T cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

After 60 years of intense fundamental research into T cell-mediated cytotoxicity, we have gained a detailed knowledge of the cells involved, specific recognition mechanisms and post-recognition perforin-granzyme-based and FAS-based molecular mechanisms. What could not be anticipated at the outset was how discovery of the mechanisms regulating the activation and function of cytotoxic T cells would lead to new developments in cancer immunotherapy. Given the profound recent interest in therapeutic manipulation of cytotoxic T cell responses, it is an opportune time to look back on the early history of the field. This Timeline describes how the early findings occurred and eventually led to current therapeutic applications

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field