Coastal climate change adaptation in existing urban areas, lessons learned from dutch and norwegian pilots

Climate change is expected to have a large impact on coastal cities all around the world. Due to the expected sea level rise for coastal regions new flood defense policies are developed, with emphasis on risk assessment and a multifunctional approach to strengthening existing coastal defenses. Most climate adaptation programs in cities focus on technical measures with little international knowledge exchange of the best management practices and governance. In this article the best management practices of two coastal cities both named ‘Bergen’ is discussed

Developing an equestrian network in the province of Drenthe

Abstract for the European Association for Sport Management conference 2015 in Dublin. The abstract describes a study to the economic value of the equestrian sector in the province of Drenthe (Netherlands) and the possibilities for the equestrian sector to optimize its economic value

Continuation of Liraglutide during Fasting is not Associated with Hypoglycaemia

Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog, is increasingly used in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in doses of up to 3.0 mg/day because of its attractive pharmacological profile. It is currently not known how to proceed with this medication during fasting for surgery. Discontinuation is likely to result in hyperglycaemia, while continuation might lead to hypoglycaemia, but, in view of its mode of action, continuation of GLP-1 analogs is likely to be safe. However, as evidence-based guidelines on GLP-1 management during perioperative fasting are not available, the safety of either policy needs to be confirmed on an individual basis. We therefore decided to perform a preoperative assessment of the glucose response to fasting during continuation of GLP-1 before giving a recommendation in individual cases. So far, 12 severely obese T2DM patients scheduled for bariatric surgery have been evaluated preoperatively by measuring glucose and insulin levels during a 32-hour fast with continuation of liraglutide. Hypoglycaemia was not observed. This suggests that liraglutide in doses of up to 3.0 mg can be safely continued during surgery without risking hypoglycaemia

Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system for studying drug induced mitochondrial toxicity

Today HIV-1 infection is recognized as a chronic disease with obligatory lifelong treatment to keep viral titers below detectable levels. The continuous intake of antiretroviral drugs however, leads to severe and even life-threatening side effects, supposedly by the deleterious impact of nucleoside-analogue type compounds on the functioning of the mitochondrial DNA polymerase. For detailed investigation of the yet partially understood underlying mechanisms, the availability of a versatile model system is crucial. We therefore set out to develop the use of Caenorhabditis elegansto study drug induced mitochondrial toxicity. Using a combination of molecular-biological and functional assays, combined with a quantitative analysis of mitochondrial network morphology, we conclude that anti-retroviral drugs with similar working mechanisms can be classified into distinct groups based on their effects on mitochondrial morphology and biochemistry. Additionally we show that mitochondrial toxicity of antiretroviral drugs cannot be exclusively attributed to interference with the mitochondrial DNA polymerase

Towards simultaneous electrical and optical investigation of BLMS using a novel microfluidic device

We firstly describe the influence of the phospholipid (PL) composition of bilayer lipid membrane on their electrical properties: (i) the more unsaturations in the tail, the earlier the BLM breakdown and (ii) the bulkier the head group, the less stable the membrane. Secondly, we design and fabricate novel devices that couple such electri-cal characterization to optical investigation and that enable the preparation of asym-metrical membranes: a “macro” device including a drilled PMMA plate as well as microfluidic device consisting of a glass-teflon foil-glass sandwich