Noise monitor 2016 : Validation of motorway and railway noise

Geluidniveaus gemeten op 38 punten langs rijkswegen lagen in 2015 gemiddeld 2 decibel hoger dan de berekende waarden. Op 39 meetlocaties langs het spoor kwamen de gemeten en berekende geluidniveaus in 2015 gemiddeld met elkaar overeen. Dit beeld stemt overeen met de voorgaande jaren 2013 en 2014. Op de afzonderlijke punten, zowel bij rijkswegen als het spoor, variëren verschillen ten opzichte van het gemiddelde. Bij de weg liggen de metingen tussen 2 decibel lager en 6 decibel hoger dan de berekende waarden, afhankelijk van het type en de lokale staat van het wegdek. De vergelijking van metingen met berekeningen is een verplichting uit de Wet milieubeheer. De weg- en spoorbeheerder, Rijkswaterstaat en ProRail, tonen via berekening aan of het geluid van de weg of het spoor onder de vastgestelde geluidproductieplafonds blijft. De berekende geluidniveaus worden jaarlijks door het RIVM gevalideerd met een steekproef van metingen. Dit rapport geeft ook de meetresultaten uit 2016 op 45 locaties langs de weg en 40 locaties langs het spoor. De meetresultaten uit 2016 zullen in een vervolgrapportage worden vergeleken met de rekenresultaten. De weg- en spoorbeheerder publiceren deze in de tweede helft van 2017.Noise levels measured at 38 sites along motorways in 2015, on average were 2 decibel higher than calculated values. At 39 measurement sites along the track, the measured and calculated noise levels in 2015, on average were in agreement. These results are consistent with previous years, 2013 and 2014. At the individual measurement sites, both for motorways and the track, differences may vary from the average. At motorways the measurements are within 2 dB lower and 6 dB higher compared with calculated values, depending on the type and the local condition of the road surface. The comparison of measured and calculated noise levels is a requirement of the environmental management Act. The road- and railway infrastructure manager, Rijkswaterstaat and ProRail, show by calculation whether the noise production from the road or the track complies with established noise limits. The calculated noise levels are validated by RIVM with a sample of measurements. This report also gives the latest results of measurements from 2016 at 45 sites along motorways and 40 sites along the track. The measured noise levels from 2016 will be compared with calculated levels, which will be published by the road- and railway infrastructure manager in the second half of 2017.Ministerie van I&

Comparative Transcriptional Profiling and Preliminary Study on Heterosis Mechanism of Super-Hybrid Rice

Heterosis is a biological phenomenon whereby the offspring from two parents show improved and superior performance than either inbred parental lines. Hybrid rice is one of the most successful apotheoses in crops utilizing heterosis. Transcriptional profiling of F1 super-hybrid rice Liangyou-2186 and its parents by serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) revealed 1183 differentially expressed genes (DGs), among which DGs were found significantly enriched in pathways such as photosynthesis and carbon-fixation, and most of the key genes involved in the carbon-fixation pathway exhibited up-regulated expression in F1 hybrid rice. Moreover, increased catabolic activity of corresponding enzymes and photosynthetic efficiency were also detected, which combined to indicate that carbon fixation is enhanced in F1 hybrid, and might probably be associated with the yield vigor and heterosis in super-hybrid rice. By correlating DGs with yield-related quantitative trait loci (QTL), a potential relationship between differential gene expression and phenotypic changes was also found. In addition, a regulatory network involving circadian-rhythms and light signaling pathways was also found, as previously reported in Arabidopsis, which suggest that such a network might also be related with heterosis in hybrid rice. Altogether, the present study provides another view for understanding the molecular mechanism underlying heterosis in rice

Maternal thyroid function and the outcome of external cephalic version: a prospective cohort study

Background To investigate the relation between maternal thyroid function and the outcome of external cephalic version (ECV) in breech presentation. Methods Prospective cohort study in 141 women (= 35 weeks gestation) with a singleton fetus in breech. Blood samples for assessing thyroid function were taken prior to ECV. Main outcome measure was the relation between maternal thyroid function and ECV outcome indicated by post ECV ultrasound. Results ECV success rate was 77/141 (55%), 41/48 (85%) in multipara and 36/93 (39%) in primipara. Women with a failed ECV attempt had significantly higher TSH concentrations than women with a successful ECV (p <0.001). Multiple logistic regression showed that TSH (OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.30-0.90), nulliparity (OR: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.03-0.36), frank breech (OR: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.10-0.93) and placenta anterior (OR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.11-0.85) were independently related to ECV success. Conclusions Higher TSH levels increase the risk of ECV failure

Nitrogen Level Changes the Interactions between a Native (Scirpus triqueter) and an Exotic Species (Spartina anglica) in Coastal China

The exotic species Spartina anglica, introduced from Europe in 1963, has been experiencing a decline in the past decade in coastal China, but the reasons for the decline are still not clear. It is hypothesized that competition with the native species Scirpus triqueter may have played an important role in the decline due to niche overlap in the field. We measured biomass, leaf number and area, asexual reproduction and relative neighborhood effect (RNE) of the two species in both monoculture and mixture under three nitrogen levels (control, low and high). S. anglica showed significantly lower biomass accumulation, leaf number and asexual reproduction in mixture than in monoculture. The inter- and intra-specific RNE of S. anglica were all positive, and the inter-specific RNE was significantly higher than the intra-specific RNE in the control. For S. triqueter, inter- and intra-specific RNE were negative at the high nitrogen level but positive in the control and at the low nitrogen level. This indicates that S. triqueter exerted an asymmetric competitive advantage over S. anglica in the control and low nitrogen conditions; however, S. anglica facilitated growth of S. triqueter in high nitrogen conditions. Nitrogen level changed the interactions between the two species because S. triqueter better tolerated low nitrogen. Since S. anglica is increasingly confined to upper, more nitrogen-limited marsh areas in coastal China, increased competition from S. triqueter may help explain its decline

Internal Ribosomal Entry Site-Mediated Translation Is Important for Rhythmic PERIOD1 Expression

The mouse PERIOD1 (mPER1) plays an important role in the maintenance of circadian rhythm. Translation of mPer1 is directed by both a cap-dependent process and cap-independent translation mediated by an internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) in the 5′ untranslated region (UTR). Here, we compared mPer1 IRES activity with other cellular IRESs. We also found critical region in mPer1 5′UTR for heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein Q (HNRNPQ) binding. Deletion of HNRNPQ binding region markedly decreased IRES activity and disrupted rhythmicity. A mathematical model also suggests that rhythmic IRES-dependent translation is a key process in mPER1 oscillation. The IRES-mediated translation of mPer1 will help define the post-transcriptional regulation of the core clock genes

Genome-wide association and transcriptome studies identify target genes and risk loci for breast cancer

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 170 breast cancer susceptibility loci. Here we hypothesize that some risk-associated variants might act in non-breast tissues, specifically adipose tissue and immune cells from blood and spleen. Using expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) reported in these tissues, we identify 26 previously unreported, likely target genes of overall breast cancer risk variants, and 17 for estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer, several with a known immune function. We determine the directional effect of gene expression on disease risk measured based on single and multiple eQTL. In addition, using a gene-based test of association that considers eQTL from multiple tissues, we identify seven (and four) regions with variants associated with overall (and ER-negative) breast cancer risk, which were not reported in previous GWAS. Further investigation of the function of the implicated genes in breast and immune cells may provide insights into the etiology of breast cancer.Peer reviewe