Bepaling percentage aal onder de totaal-TEQ limiet in de voor aalvangst gesloten gebieden

In de voor aalvangst gesloten gebieden is het gemiddelde gehalte van totaal-TEQ (ToxicEQuivalents; een maat voor de dioxine-achtige toxiciteit) in aal, gemeten in de jaarlijkse monitoring, normoverschrijdend. Op basis hiervan heeft de Staatsecretaris van EL&I, in afstemming met het ministerie van VWS, de vangst van aal in die gebieden verboden. Door de natuurlijke variatie zal een percentage van de aal mogelijk totaal-TEQ gehalten beneden de wettelijke consumptienorm van 12 picogram TEQ/gram versgewicht bevatten. Deze aal is voor consumptie geschikt, maar door het vangstverbod kan deze niet worden gevangen. Het ministerie van EL&I wil deze gederfde inkomsten compenseren. Hiervoor moet worden vastgesteld welk percentage van de vangst van de aalvissers uit deze voor consumptie geschikte aal bestaat. De doelstelling van dit onderzoek is om met behulp van verschillende datasets te schatten welk deel van de potentiele commerciële aalvangst in de gesloten gebieden totaal-TEQ-gehalten bevat beneden de gestelde totaal-TEQ limiet van 12 pg/g vis. Drie datasets zijn al beschikbaar, één dataset is in dit onderzoek verkregen; totaal-TEQ gehalten in 100 individuele alen. Hiermee kan de variabiliteit in het TEQ-gehalte binnen een mengmonster aal worden berekend

Pharmacological restoration and therapeutic targeting of the B-cell phenotype in classical Hodgkin's lymphoma

Classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL), although originating from B-cells, is characterized by the virtual lack of gene products whose expression constitutes the B-cell phenotype. Epigenetic repression of B-cell-specific genes via promoter hypermethylation and histone deacetylation as well as compromised expression of B-cell-committed transcription factors were previously reported to contribute to the lost B-cell phenotype in cHL. Restoring the B-cell phenotype may not only correct a central malignant property, but render cHL susceptible to clinically established antibody therapies targeting B-cell surface receptors or small compounds interfering with B-cell receptor signaling. We conducted now a high-throughput pharmacological screening based on more than 28,000 compounds in cHL cell lines carrying a CD19 reporter to identify drugs that promote re-expression of the B-cell phenotype. Three chemicals were retrieved that robustly enhanced CD19 transcription. Subsequent chromatin immunoprecipitation-based analyses indicated that action of two of these compounds was associated with lowered levels of the transcriptionally repressive lysine 9-trimethylated histone H3 mark at the CD19 promoter. Moreover, the anti-leukemia agents all-trans retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide (ATO) were found to reconstitute the silenced B-cell transcriptional program and reduce viability of cHL cell lines. When applied in combination with a screening-identified chemical, ATO evoked re-expression of the CD20 antigen, which could be further therapeutically exploited by enabling CD20 antibody-mediated apoptosis of cHL cells. Furthermore, restoration of the B-cell phenotype also rendered cHL cells susceptible to the B-cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma-tailored small compound inhibitors Ibrutinib and Idelalisib. In essence, we report here a conceptually novel, re-differentiation-based treatment strategy for cHL

The Dutch Healthy Diet index (DHD-index): an instrument to measure adherence to the Dutch Guidelines for a Healthy diet

Background The objective was to develop an index based on the Dutch guidelines for a healthy diet of 2006 that reflects dietary quality and to apply it to the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey (DNFCS) to examine the assocations with the micronutrient intakes. Methods A total of 749 men and women, aged 19-30 years, contributed two 24-hour recalls and additional questionnaires in the DNFCS of 2003. The Dutch Healthy Diet index (DHD-index) includes ten components representing the ten Dutch Guidelines for a Healthy Diet. Per component the score ranges between zero and ten, resulting in a total score between zero (no adherence) and 100 (complete adherence). Results The mean+/-SD of the DHD-index was 60.4 +/-11.5 for women and 57.8 +/-10.8 for men (P for difference = 0.002). Each component score increased across the sex-specific quintiles of the DHD-index. An inverse association was observed between the sex-specific quintiles of the DHD-index and total energy intake. Calcium, Riboflavin, and vitamin E intake decreased with increasing DHD-index, an inverse association which disappeared after energy adjustment. Vitamin C showed a positive association across quintiles, also when adjusted for energy. For folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, thiamin, and vitamin B6 a positive association emerged after adjustment for energy. Conclusions The DHD-index is capable of ranking participants according to their adherence to the Dutch Guidelines for a Healthy Diet by reflecting variation in nine out of ten components that constitute when based on two 24-hour recalls. Furthermore, the index showed to be a good measure of nutrient density of diet

Higher Mediterranean Diet scores are not cross-sectionally associated with better cognitive scores in 20- to 70-year-old Dutch adults: The NQplus study

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) has been suggested to reduce the risk of age-related cognitive decline. Therefore, we hypothesized that adults consuming a more Mediterranean-like diet were more likely to have better cognitive scores. We investigated cross-sectional associations between MedDiet adherence and cognitive performance using data of 1607 Dutch men and women aged 20–70 years. Dietary intake was assessed using a 183-item Food Frequency Questionnaire. MedDiet adherence was defined by a 0–9 pointscale; which was based on intakes of vegetables, legumes, fruits/nuts, cereals, fish/seafood, meat/poultry, dairy, ethanol and the MUFA:SFA ratio. Cognitive function was assessed with a neuropsychological test battery. Linear regression analyses adjusted for relevant covariates showed a significant inverse association between MedDiet adherence and everyday memory: specifically β = −0.107 ± 0.046 points (P = .02) for the total population and β = −0.139 ± 0.055 points (P = .01) for those aged ≥50 years. Further exploration of the individual MedDiet food groups suggested that the association between MedDiet and everyday memory was predominantly driven by the MUFA:SFA ratio. Moreover, associations were observed between higher ethanol intake better semantic memory and language production (β = 0.016 ± 0.008 P = .05), higher vegetable intake with better processing speed (β = 0.005 ± 0.002, P = .02), and higher legumes intake with poorer processing speed (β = −0.014 ±0.006, P = 03). Thus, in this Dutch cohort, higher MedDiet adherence was associated with poorer everyday memory

Structural, spectroscopic and theoretical studies of a diruthenium(II,II) tetraformamidinate that reversibly binds dioxygen

The reaction of Ru2(O2CMe)4 with N,N'-bis(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)formamidine (Hdmof) in refluxing toluene solutions yields Ru2(dmof)4 as a diamagnetic red solid that is extremely airsensitive. The crystal structure reveals the expected paddlewheel arrangement of ligands around the Ru2 4+ core, with a relatively long Ru-Ru bond (2.4999(8) Å) that is consistent with a σ2 π4 δ2 π*4 electronic configuration. This is supported DFT calculations that show this electronic structure results from destabilization of the δ* orbital due to antibonding interactions with the formamidinate ligands. The cyclic voltammogram of Ru2(dmof)4 in a 0.1 M n Bu4NPF6 / CH2Cl2 solution shows two redox processes, assigned as successive oxidations corresponding to the Ru2 4+/5+ and Ru2 5+/6 redox couples. Changes in the electronic absorption spectra associated with these oxidation processes were probed using a UV/vis spectroelectrochemical study. Ru2(dmof)4 reacts with dioxygen in solution to generate a purple compound that decomposes within an hour at room temperature. Bubbling N2 gas through the purple solution regenerates Ru2(dmof)4, as evidenced by UV/vis spectrometry and cyclic voltammetry, suggesting that the dioxygen reversibly binds to the diruthenium core

Structural sustainability appraisal in BIM

The provision of Application Programming Interface (API) in BIM-enable tools can contribute to facilitating BIM-related research. APIs are useful links for running plug-ins and external programmes but they are yet to be fully exploited in expanding the BIM scope. The modelling of n-Dimensional (nD) building performance measures can potentially benefit from BIM extension through API implementations. Sustainability is one such measure associated with buildings. For the structural engineer, recent design criteria have put great emphasis on the sustainability credentials as part of the traditional criteria of structural integrity, constructability and cost. This paper examines the utilization of API in BIM extension and presents a demonstration of an API application to embed sustainability issues into the appraisal process of structural conceptual design options in BIM. It concludes that API implementations are useful in expanding the BIM scope. Also, the approach including process modelling, algorithms and object-based instantiations demonstrated in the API implementation can be applicable to other nD building performance measures as may be relevant to the various professional platforms in the construction domain

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory is a second generation water Cherenkov detector designed to determine whether the currently observed solar neutrino deficit is a result of neutrino oscillations. The detector is unique in its use of D2O as a detection medium, permitting it to make a solar model-independent test of the neutrino oscillation hypothesis by comparison of the charged- and neutral-current interaction rates. In this paper the physical properties, construction, and preliminary operation of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory are described. Data and predicted operating parameters are provided whenever possible.Comment: 58 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Nucl. Inst. Meth. Uses elsart and epsf style files. For additional information about SNO see http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca . This version has some new reference