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&

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

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

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

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018): a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points

Noise monitor 2013

In 2012 is nieuwe geluidwetgeving voor Nederlandse rijkswegen en spoorwegen ingevoerd. Deze wet stelt grenswaarden aan het geluid langs het gehele rijksen spoorwegnet. De beheerders, Rijkswaterstaat en ProRail, moeten ervoor zorgen de grenswaarden niet worden overschreden en dit door een jaarlijkse berekening verantwoorden. De wet bepaalt dat rekenresultaten van de beheerders door een onafhankelijk meetprogramma moeten worden gevalideerd. Het RIVM voert dit onderzoek uit en zal hier jaarlijks over rapporteren. Dit rapport beschrijft het meetprogramma en geeft de eerste resultaten verkregen in 2013 op 52 locaties langs Nederlandse rijkswegen en spoorwegen. Het programma voorziet in vervolgmetingen en onderzoek naar verschillen met rekenresultaten zodra deze voor 2013 beschikbaar komen.In 2012, new noise legislation was introduced to Dutch national roads and railways. This legislation sets limits on noise levels along the entire infrastructure. The road and railway authorities, Rijkswaterstaat and ProRail, must ensure the limits are not exceeded, and justify this by an annual calculation. The legislation provides that the calculation results must be validated by independent measurements. The RIVM conducts this research and will report on it annually. This report describes the measurement program and gives the first results obtained in 2013 at 52 locations along the Dutch major roads and railways. The program provides for continued measurements and research into differences with calculation results as soon as they become available for 2013.Ministerie van I&

Hemorrhage is the most common cause of neonatal mortality in patients with sacrococcygeal teratoma

Background: A small percentage of neonates with sacrococcygeal teratoma die shortly after birth from hemorrhagic complications. The incidence of and risk factors associated with hemorrhagic mortality are unknown. In this multicenter study we determined the incidence of early death in neonates born with SCT and evaluated potential risk factors for hemorrhagic mortality. Methods: 235 children with SCT treated from 1970 to 2010 in the Netherlands were retrospectively included. The following candidate risk factors for hemorrhagic mortality were examined: sex, prematurity, Altman type, tumor volume, tumor histology, necessity of emergency operation and time of diagnosis. Results: Eighteen patients (7.7%) died at a median age of 163.5 days (range 1.7-973 days). Nine patients died of a malignancy. Nine others (3.8%) died postnatally (age 1-27 days), six even within two days after birth. In seven of these nine patients death was related to tumor-hemorrhage and/or circulatory failure. Risk factors for hemorrhagic mortality were prematurity, tumor volume > 1000 cm(3) and performance of an emergency operation. Conclusions: Hemorrhagic mortality of neonates with SCT is relatively high (3.8%) representing almost 70% of the overall mortality in the neonatal period. High-output cardiac failure, internal tumor hemorrhage and perioperative bleeding were the most common causes of early death and were all strongly associated with larger tumor sizes. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved