Does smoking, age or gender affect the protein phenotype of extracellular vesicles in plasma?

AbstractExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are involved in several diseases, which have formed the basis for the potential use of EV analyses in a clinical setting. The protein phenotype of EVs can provide information on the functionality of the vesicles and may be used for identification of disease-related biomarkers.With this extensive study of 161 healthy individuals it was elucidated that certain markers of plasma EVs are influenced by demographic variations such as gender, age and smoking status. When the purpose is to use EVs as a diagnostic tool, it should be emphasized how important it is to choose the correct demographic group when comparing marker levels of plasma EVs

Fiscal measures to Reduce CO2 emissions from new passenger cars

The fuel efficiency of passenger cars is often emphasised as one of the most significant areas of action in terms of limiting the transport sector’s CO2 emission levels. This could be achieved either on the supply side through the technological development of cars, or through demand-side measures such as influencing first time buyers’ choice of car. The aim of this article is to present a model for analysis of the demand side, more specifically the relation between the CO2 emissions from new cars and the car taxation related to new car purchases in EU. The purpose of the model is twofold. Firstly, it should be used to analyse the CO2 efficiency of the car taxation in each member state. Secondly, results from model calculations should be used to illustrate what are the possibilities for the individual member states to reduce their CO2 emissions from new cars. The major conclusions from the study are: It is essential to apply a tax scheme, which is directly or indirectly CO2 related in order to provide for significant reductions in the average CO2 emissions from new cars. It is essential to differentiate the taxes in such a way that taxes for very energy effective cars are significantly lower than taxes for cars with poor energy efficiency. Fuel tax increases provide only very small reductions of the average CO2 emissions of new cars compared to vehicle taxes. The model is based on a revised and enhanced version of the Danish Car Choice model from 1997 combined with car characteristics, socio-economic data and car taxation data from the EU member states

Effect of poplar trees on nitrogen and water balance in outdoor pig production – A case study in Denmark

Nitrate leaching from outdoor pig production is a long-standing environmental problem for surface and groundwater pollution. In this study, the effects of inclusion of poplar trees in paddocks for lactating sows on nitrogen (N) balances were studied for an organic pig farm in Denmark. Vegetation conditions, soil water and nitrate dynamics were measured in poplar and grass zones of paddocks belonging to main treatments: access to trees (AT), no access to trees (NAT) and a control without trees (NT), during the hydrological year April 2015 to April 2016. Soil water drainage for each zone, simulated by two simulation models (CoupModel and Daisy), was used to estimate nitrate leaching from the zones in each paddock. N balances (input minus output) for the treatments were computed and compared