Long-Term Pyrene Exposure of Grass Shrimp, \u3ci\u3ePalaemonetes pugio\u3c/i\u3e, Affects Molting and Reproduction of Exposed Males and Offspring of Exposed Females

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of long-term pyrene exposure on molting and reproduction in the model estuarine invertebrate, the grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio). Grass shrimp were exposed to measured concentrations of 5.1, 15.0, and 63.4 ppb (mu g/L) pyrene for 6 weeks, during which time we determined molting and survivorship. At the end of the exposure, we immediately sacrificed some of the shrimp for biomarker (CYP1A and vitellin) analyses. The remaining shrimp were used to analyze fecundity and embryo survivorship during an additional 6 weeks after termination of pyrene exposure. Male shrimp at the highest pyrene dose (63 ppb) experienced a significant delay in molting and in time until reproduction, and showed elevated ethoxycoumarin o-deethylase (ECOD) activity immediately after the 6-week exposure period. In contrast, 63 ppb pyrene did not affect these parameters in female shrimp. Females produced the same number of eggs per body weight, with high egg viability (98-100%) at all exposure levels, but with decreased survival for the offspring of the 63-ppb pyrene-exposed females. In addition, vitellin levels were elevated only in females at 63 ppb pyrene after the 6-week exposure. We hypothesize that the elevated vitellin binds pyrene and keeps it biologically unavailable to adult females, resulting in maternal transfer of pyrene to the embryos. This would account for the lack of effect of pyrene exposure on ECOD activity, molting, and reproduction in the adult females, and for reduced survival of their offspring

Do silver eel find their way along sluices and pumping stations in highly regulated water systems

In order to quantify abundance, to study migration behaviour and to evaluate passage success along a 26 long canal (North Sea Canal) in the Netherlands, a telemetry experiment was carried out by tagging 2630 silver eel (Anguilla anguilla). A network of 64 VEMCO receivers was used to detect movement of silver eel tagged with V9 (n=280), V9P (n=50) acoustics transmitters and 32mm HDX PITtag. In addition, 2300 silver eel were tagged with 32mm HDX pittags for mark recapture purposes and fish pass evaluation. Fisherman along the canal were equipped with manual PITtag readers in case of a recapture during (commercial) fisheries. Within this study eleven locations were selected to evaluate escapement from of freshwater polder systems into the canal and eventually towards the North Sea. Individual variation in observed patterns was large and not all routes were efficient in terms of energy used. Some eel swam up and down the canal before reaching the sea, while others (groups) did not succeed in escaping at all, showing a large barrier effect. Also, some eel swam back towards the polder using sluices and eel seemed to prefer the main water flow instead of a fish passage along a pumping station or migration facilities in sluices. Successful escapement showed part of the silver eel were detected in the Lifewatch network along the Belgian coast. Based on recapture assessment at least 110.000 silver eel successfully migrated along the sluices of Ijmuiden. This research was funded by a unique collaboration of different water boards and partners along the canal

Integration of oncology and palliative care : a Lancet Oncology Commission

Full integration of oncology and palliative care relies on the specific knowledge and skills of two modes of care: the tumour-directed approach, the main focus of which is on treating the disease; and the host-directed approach, which focuses on the patient with the disease. This Commission addresses how to combine these two paradigms to achieve the best outcome of patient care. Randomised clinical trials on integration of oncology and palliative care point to health gains: improved survival and symptom control, less anxiety and depression, reduced use of futile chemotherapy at the end of life, improved family satisfaction and quality of life, and improved use of health-care resources. Early delivery of patient-directed care by specialist palliative care teams alongside tumour-directed treatment promotes patient-centred care. Systematic assessment and use of patient-reported outcomes and active patient involvement in the decisions about cancer care result in better symptom control, improved physical and mental health, and better use of health-care resources. The absence of international agreements on the content and standards of the organisation, education, and research of palliative care in oncology are major barriers to successful integration. Other barriers include the common misconception that palliative care is end-of-life care only, stigmatisation of death and dying, and insufficient infrastructure and funding. The absence of established priorities might also hinder integration more widely. This Commission proposes the use of standardised care pathways and multidisciplinary teams to promote integration of oncology and palliative care, and calls for changes at the system level to coordinate the activities of professionals, and for the development and implementation of new and improved education programmes, with the overall goal of improving patient care. Integration raises new research questions, all of which contribute to improved clinical care. When and how should palliative care be delivered? What is the optimal model for integrated care? What is the biological and clinical effect of living with advanced cancer for years after diagnosis? Successful integration must challenge the dualistic perspective of either the tumour or the host, and instead focus on a merged approach that places the patient's perspective at the centre. To succeed, integration must be anchored by management and policy makers at all levels of health care, followed by adequate resource allocation, a willingness to prioritise goals and needs, and sustained enthusiasm to help generate support for better integration. This integrated model must be reflected in international and national cancer plans, and be followed by developments of new care models, education and research programmes, all of which should be adapted to the specific cultural contexts within which they are situated. Patient-centred care should be an integrated part of oncology care independent of patient prognosis and treatment intention. To achieve this goal it must be based on changes in professional cultures and priorities in health care

Unleashed Microactuators electrostatic wireless actuation for probe-based data storage

Summary A hierarchical overview of the currently available data storage systems for desktop computer systems can be visualised as a pyramid in which the height represents both the price per bit and the access rate. The width of the pyramid represents the capacity of the medium. At the bottom slow, cost effective mass data storage media (tape) and at the top fast, expensive media for storage of small amounts of data (FLASH, MRAM) can be found, while the middle section is the domain of the hard disk. Although hard disk development is rapidly reaching the limits of the current design, none of the current storage media can take its place. A new type of data storage technology, called probe storage or probe recording, is currently under development. This technology uses the parallelism of a large array of read/write heads in its advantage. The probe array is positioned above a data storage medium and small movements of either the array or the medium position the probes for reading and writing. This technology would ultimately bring forth a system that stores data at the densities exceeding that of hard disks, but with the form factor of FLASH. The capacity of such a system is limited by the size of the probe array. Because the realisation of a probe array of several square centimeters would be difficult and too expensive, such a system can not substitute a hard disk. In this work, the first small step is taken towards an alternative that decouples the array size from the size of the storage area, so that a large storage area (tile) of several tens of cm2 can be realised. This opens up the possibility to create probe recording systems with the capacity of a hard disk. In the approach, the probe array is divided into small sub-arrays that are distributed over the surface on which data is stored. The need for large actuators to move the probe array is eliminated and instead, each sub-array is equipped with a wirelessly powered, 2-DOF actuator, fabricated by silicon micromachining, enabling it to move freely over the tile like a miniature storage robot or StoBot. Probe based data storage without a fixed positioning system results in a more effective use of surface area and opens up new degrees of freedom in data handling. The StoBot architecture is fully scalable in size and the number of active StoBots on the tile, as well as the number of probes per StoBot. In case one StoBot 200 Summary ceases to function, others can take its place and ensure the functionality of the system. Intelligent file systems can be designed in which the number of active StoBots is adapted to the system load and power requirements. The first milestone on the way towards such a system is to develop a propulsion system for a StoBot. The propulsion system requires a microactuator that can be operated wirelessly and is able to move in arbitrary directions over the tile. In this research, the suitability of wireless and steerable Scratch Drive Actuators (SDA) and a 2-DOF version of the Image Charge Stepping Actuator (ICSA) is investigated. Both these actuators operate by electrostatic forces and although the principles of operation are very different, both actuators can be wirelessly driven and operated in 2D motion. Scratch Drive Actuators (SDA) This type of actuator is shaped like a capital L, rotated 90° clockwise. The long side of the L (plate) can be electrostatically attracted, and bent. This bending makes the end of the short side of the L (bushing) move forward. When the attraction stops the long side relaxes and the resulting movement is converted into forward motion. A qualitative model for the SDA has been developed, based on the cyclic motion of the actuator plate. If the actuation part of its cycle would be equal and opposite to the relaxation part, the SDA would be unable to output power. Therefore, it should go through a hysteresis loop. Two sources of hysteresis in the actuation cycle of the SDA have been identified. The first is based on the influence of the friction force of the bushing on the curvature of the plate. Because the this friction force always opposite to the direction of movement, the curvature of the plate during actuation therefore differs from the curvature during relaxation. The second springs from plastic deformation of the bushing under load. Due to the high pressures involved, the surface of the bushing deforms, thereby raising the coefficient of friction. The behaviour of this friction coefficient may introduce hysteresis. Although several parameters of the model can, within the scope of this thesis, not be determined, the model provides a new view on how an SDA moves. Several versions of the SDA, including wireless designs, were realised. Experiments with these devices showed that an SDA is subject to wear, which confirms the assumption that the bushing plastically deforms under load. A small investigation into SDA wear showed that the SDA, and especially the bushing, wears down rapidly, which led to the conclusion that the SDA is better suited for short-term use than for long-term use. This aspect makes it a less suitable candidate for StoBot propulsion. Summary 201 Image Charge Stepping Actuators (ICSA) The propulsion system of this type of actuator is based on the forces that electric fields exert on (semi) permanent charges in a poor conductor. The actuator consists of a slider and a stator. The slider might be just a piece of poorly conducting material or a complete StoBot. The stator is equipped with interdigital three-phase electrodes, on which the slider is placed. First, a static driving voltage charges the slider, then a dynamic driving voltage is applied to the stator to make the actuator move. Where the three-phase stator supports only 1D driving, a nine-phase stator was constructed to enable 2D driving. A model has been developed, which allows the calculation of propulsive and lift forces working on the slider. Together with this model, a macro version of the ICSA with an electrode pitch of 0.4mm, based on printed circuit board technology, has been designed and realised. The realisation included a control system and a linear high voltage amplifier. Measurements with this actuator showed that its stepping behaviour has excellent repeatability and a top speed of 1 m/s at 2.5 kHz driving frequency. The use of this scale model showed that several optimisations can be performed to improve the performance of this device. According to the theory, miniaturisation of the actuator would be beneficial, because with decreasing size, the strength of the electric field of the macro version can be realised at lower voltages. Miniaturised designs of the ICSA, based on surface micromachining and with a minimum electrode pitch of 4 μm, were designed and realised. These devices did not exhibit the expected forward movement and several explanations for this phenomenon can be given. These are an incorrect resistance of the device material, stiction effects, shielding of the electric fields by the material underneath the electrodes or an electrode to slider distance that is too small. Wafer to wafer transfer of microactuators An important aspect of the production of a future StoBot drive will be the integration of the recording medium and the StoBots. Because of cost effectiveness and because the fabrication processes may not be compatible, the StoBots and the recording medium will be fabricated separately. To meet this demand, a method has been developed to transport wireless microactuators from the wafer of origin (source) to another surface (target) without the use of sophisticated equipment. This method supports the transfer of groups of actuators as well as individual actuators. The technique requires that the actuators are fabricated up side down, fully released and connected to the source wafer by springs. The target surface should be equipped with electrodes to generate electrostatic clamping force. A die with finished actuators is picked up, turned up side down and brought into contact 202 Summary with the target wafer. At that moment, the actuators can be clamped by electrostatic force. When the source die is retracted, the clamped actuators remain on the target surface, making the suspending springs break at a predefined point. The use of electrostatic forces makes the transfer method independent of the type of actuator. Conductive actuators can be clamped by either a DC voltage between source and target wafer or by an AC voltage on the electrodes of the target surface. To clamp an non-conductive actuator, a DC voltage on the electrodes can be used. Experiments showed out that both the SDA and the ICSA can be transferred. The SDA’s could not be tested, but an optical microscopic inspection and inspection by SEM revealed no damaged. Optical inspection and experiments with transferred ICSA’s showed that these devices were undamaged and capable of movement. Outlook With the development of a suitable actuator and a method to transfer this actuator from one wafer to another, the first small steps are made on the road towards a StoBot drive. Future research on StoBots will be directed at reading and writing of data, the communication of StoBots with the rest of the drive and the integration of a small array of simple probes on a wireless actuator such as the ICSA. The flat, almost featureless shape of the miniaturised ICSA should facilitate the integration of simple electronics

'A Sense of Pride and Belonging'? De evaluatie van de Europese dimensie van Culturele Hoofdsteden van Europa

Sinds 1985 zijn jaarlijks twee of meer Europese steden 'Culturele Hoofdstad van Europa'. Het EU-beleid voor deze Culturele Hoofdsteden, vastgelegd in Besluiten, bestaat uit de dimensies 'Stad en Burgers' en de 'Europese dimensie'. De Europese dimensie is gericht op het bevorderen van de samenwerking tussen kunstenaars, culturele instellingen en steden in de EU-lidstaten, en het bevorderen van de Europese cultuur en de identificatie met Europa. In dit onderzoek worden de mogelijkheden tot verbetering van de evaluatie van de Europese dimensie onderzocht. De evaluatie van de Europese dimensie vond tot 2007 helemaal niet plaats, en de evaluaties die er zijn richten zich vooral op de economische effecten. De Culturele Hoofdsteden van 2000 tot en met 2009 dienen als casestudy om te achterhalen hoe de Europese dimensie wordt geïnterpreteerd, uitgewerkt en geëvalueerd. De tekortkomingen van de bestaande evaluaties blijken vooral te liggen bij de effecten van de culturele activiteiten met een Europese dimensie op het publiek, met name wat betreft de effecten op de Europese identiteit. Er wordt een model ontwikkeld voor de evaluatie van de effecten op de Europese identiteit, gebaseerd op specifieke waarden die behoren bij het culturele deel van de Europese identiteit. Op basis hiervan kunnen de Culturele Hoofdsteden en de EU toekomstig beleid effectiever formuleren, omdat er een meer realistische inschatting gemaakt kan worden van de effecten die culturele activiteiten hebben op de Europese perceptie en identiteit, en hoe en bij wie deze effecten zich voordoen. Dan blijkt in hoeverre de Europese dimensie van de Culturele Hoofdsteden daadwerkelijk ‘een gevoel van trots en toebehoren’ kan realiseren.