Costs and benefits of an individual learning account (ILA):A simulation analysis for the Netherlands

This study analyses costs and benefits of a public-private funded individual learning account (ILA) for the labour force in the Netherlands. We consider an ILA that is funded by subsidies targeted at low- and medium-educated workers and co-funded by training levies as a share of the wage bill. We simulate two alternative steady-state scenarios about the uptake of resources and increase in training activity, using a lifecycle model of human capital investments. We derive predictions for gross earnings, income inequality and costs (training subsidies and tax deductions) and benefits (tax revenues and fewer unemployment benefits). Our results show how the balance of costs and benefits depends on the interplay between take-up rates, returns to training and the deadweight loss of subsidizing an ILA for the whole labour force. Our model and results contribute to policy trade-offs about the introduction of ILA's to stimulate the resilience of the labour force

Naar een nieuwe Na-behoefte norm voor melkvee en verantwoorde Na-bemesting op grasland

Natrium is van invloed op de smakelijkheid van gras en daarmee op de grasopname en mogelijk ook op de melkproductie. Uit buitenlandse literatuur blijkt dat de drogestof opname het hoogst is bij een Na-gehalte tussen 2,5 – 5,5 g per kg ds, wat fors hoger is dan de fysiologische behoefte. Onder Nederlandse omstandigheden zijn echter geen experimentele gegevens voorhanden over de optimale Na-gehalten van gras. Anderzijds is het huidige bemestingsadvies verouderd, omdat dat alleen rekening houdt met de K- en Na-toestand van de grond, terwijl bekend is dat ook de bemesting met N, K, Na en Mg en de Mg-toestand van invloed kan zijn op het Na-gehalte in gras. Door rekening te houden met multi-nutriënt interacties kan een meer op maat Na-advies worden ontwikkeld waar mee gericht is te sturen op een gewenst Na-gehalte in gras. NMI en ASG hebben in een gezamenlijke studie in opdracht van Productschap Zuivel daarop onderzoek uitgevoerd i) voor de ontwikkeling van een nieuw Na-bemestingsadvies op basis van monitoring en praktijkproeven en ii) voor het bepalen van het optimale Na-gehalte in gras voor een maximale grasopname via een gerichte voederproef

Whose national emergency? Caboolture and Kirribili? or Milikapiti and Mutitjulu?

Keynote Address - Ms Marion Scrymgour MLA Member for Arafura, Northern Territory Government. Other Speakers - Professor Gavin Brown AO FAA, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Sydney; Mr Neville Perkins OAM, Master of Ceremonies; Mr Charles Madden, Welcome to country; Ms Michelle Blanchard, Acting Director, Koori Centre; Mr Nicholas Beeton, Ms Kerry Wallace-Massone, Ms Jade Swan Prize winners, Dr Charles Perkins AO Annual Memorial Prize

Studies on breeding dwarf poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd.) and the influence of infective agents

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia, metabolism, and growth factor signaling are important prognostic features in most solid tumors. The purpose of this study was to determine whether head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) xenografts show similar biological and molecular characteristics as the primary tumor they originate from. METHODS: Eighteen HNSCC primary tumor-xenograft pairs were immunofluorescently stained for pimonidazole (hypoxia), carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1), monocarboxylate transporter-1 (MCT-1), monocarboxylate transporter-4 (MCT-4), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and phosphorylated protein kinase B (pAKT). RESULTS: Although no correlation was found for the amount of hypoxia, significant correlations between primary tumors and xenografts were observed for both the percentage of cells positive for expression and the hypoxia-related expression pattern of CAIX, GLUT-1, and MCT-1. For EGFR and MCT-4, the intensity of expression was correlated. No correlation was observed for pAKT. CONCLUSION: Xenografts did not always resemble the primary tumor they originate from, but the xenografts did represent the variability in expression levels and patterns observed in the primary tumors

Multiparameter analysis of vasculature, perfusion and proliferation in human tumour xenografts.

A method is presented in this report for concurrent analysis of vascular architecture, blood perfusion and proliferation characteristics in whole-tumour cross-sections of human larynx carcinoma and glioblastoma xenografts. Tumours were implanted subcutaneously in nude mice. After i.v. injection with Hoechst 33342 and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) as perfusion and proliferation markers, animals were killed. An antiendothelial antibody (9F1) was used to delineate vascular structures. Cross-sections were analysed by a multistep immune staining and a computer-controlled microscope scanning method. Each tumour section was stained and scanned four times (Hoechst, 9F1, BrdUrd and Fast Blue for all nuclei). When these images were combined, vasculature, perfusion and proliferation parameters were analysed. The labelling index (LI) was defined as the ratio of the BrdUrd-labelled area to the total nuclear area. The LI based on manual counting and the LI calculated by flow cytometry (FCM) were in good agreement with the LI based on surface analysis. LI decreased at increasing distance from its nearest vessel. In the vicinity of perfused vessels, the LI was 30-70% higher than near non-perfused vessels. This method shows that both vasculature/perfusion and proliferation characteristics can be measured in the same whole-tumour section in a semiautomatic way. This could be applied in clinical practice to identify combined human tumour characteristics that predict for a favourable response to treatment modifications

Tumor microenvironmental changes induced by the sulfamate carbonic anhydrase IX inhibitor S4 in a laryngeal tumor model

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) plays a pivotal role in pH homeostasis, which is essential for tumor cell survival. We examined the effect of the CAIX inhibitor 4-(3'(3",5"-dimethylphenyl)-ureido)phenyl sulfamate (S4) on the tumor microenvironment in a laryngeal tumor model by analyzing proliferation, apoptosis, necrosis, hypoxia, metabolism and CAIX ectodomain shedding. METHODS: SCCNij202 tumor bearing-mice were treated with S4 for 1, 3 or 5 days. CAIX ectodomain shedding was measured in the serum after therapy. Effects on tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, necrosis, hypoxia (pimonidazole) and CAIX were investigated with quantitative immunohistochemistry. Metabolic transporters and enzymes were quantified with qPCR. RESULTS: CAIX ectodomain shedding decreased after treatment with S4 (p<0.01). S4 therapy did neither influence tumor cell proliferation nor the amount of apoptosis and necrosis. Hypoxia (pimonidazole) and CAIX expression were also not affected by S4. CHOP and MMP9 mRNA as a reference of intracellular pH did not change upon treatment with S4. Compensatory mechanisms of pH homeostasis at the mRNA level were not observed. CONCLUSION: As the clinical and biological meaning of the decrease in CAIX ectodomain shedding after S4 therapy is not clear, studies are required to elucidate whether the CAIX ectodomain has a paracrine or autocrine signaling function in cancer biology. S4 did not influence the amount of proliferation, apoptosis, necrosis and hypoxia. Therefore, it is unlikely that S4 can be used as single agent to influence tumor cell kill and proliferation, and to target primary tumor growth

Carbonic anhydrase IX expression is more predictive than prognostic in breast cancer

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Effecten bodem- en structuurverbeteraars : onderzoek op klei-, zand- en dal grond 2010

Om de bodemstructuur te verbeteren worden door industrie en handel zogeheten bodemverbeteraars en kalkmeststoffen aangeboden. Er is een grote variatie in type producten, de wijze waarop ze werken en de mate waarin ze een directe dan wel indirecte invloed op de bodemvruchtbaarheid hebben. Om de invloed van bodemverbeteraars op verschillende grondsoorten te toetsen zijn proeven aangelegd op drie kleilocaties, één dalgrond- en één zandlocatie. In 2010 is de uit gangssituatie van de bodem in de diverse testlocaties bepaald (nulmeting). Er waren in 2010 geen of nauwelijks betrouwbare verschillen in opbrengst tussen de div erse behandelingen. Per locatie lijken er wel verschillen in effecten te zijn van bodemverbeteraars. Het onderzoek van de komende jaren zal moet en uitwijzen of er significante verschillen zijn tussen bodemverbeteraars en of bodemverbeteraars significante toegevoegde waarde hebben voor het verbeteren van de bodemstructuur

Naar een advies voor fosfaatbemesting op nieuwe leest. Dl. 1: Snijmaïs

De Commissie Bemesting Grasland en Voedergewassen heeft in 2006 geconcludeerd dat het advies voor snijmaïs niet langer voldoet, omdat het is gebaseerd op aardappelproeven en het advies vaak hoger is dan toegestaan is op basis van het P-gebruiksnormenstelsel. Vandaar dit het onderzoek, dat tot doel heeft een nieuwe adviessystematiek voor maïsland te ontwikkelen, die gebaseerd is op de directe P-beschikbaarheid en het P-naleverend vermogen van de bodem