Long-Stay Psychiatric Patients: A Prospective Study Revealing Persistent Antipsychotic-Induced Movement Disorder

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of persistent drug-induced movement disorders namely, tardive dyskinesia (TD), parkinsonism, akathisia and tardive dystonia in a representative sample of long-stay patients with chronic severe mental illness. METHOD: Naturalistic study of 209, mainly white, antipsychotic-treated patients, mostly diagnosed with psychotic disorder. Of this group, the same rater examined 194 patients at least two times over a 4-year period, with a mean follow-up time of 1.1 years, with validated scales for TD, parkinsonism, akathisia, and tardive dystonia. RESULTS: The frequencies of persistent movement disorders in the sample were 28.4% for TD, 56.2% for parkinsonism, 4.6% for akathisia and 5.7% for tardive dystonia. Two-thirds of the participants displayed at least one type of persistent movement disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent movement disorder continues to be the norm for long-stay patients with chronic mental illness and long-term antipsychotic treatment. Measures are required to remedy this situation

Geographic variation in breeding system and environment predicts melanin-based plumage ornamentation of male and female Kentish plovers

Sexual selection determines the elaboration of morphological and behavioural traits and thus drives the evolution of phenotypes. Sexual selection on males and females can differ between populations, especially when populations exhibit different breeding systems. A substantial body of literature describes how breeding systems shape ornamentation across species, with a strong emphasis on male ornamentation and female preference. However, whether breeding system predicts ornamentation within species and whether similar mechanisms as in males also shape the phenotype of females remains unclear. Here, we investigate how different breeding systems are associated with male and female ornamentation in five geographically distinct populations of Kentish plovers Charadrius alexandrinus. We predicted that polygamous populations would exhibit more elaborate ornaments and stronger sexual dimorphism than monogamous populations. By estimating the size and intensity of male (n = 162) and female (n = 174) melanin-based plumage ornaments, i.e. breast bands and ear coverts, we show that plumage ornamentation is predicted by breeding system in both sexes. A difference in especially male ornamentation between polygamous (darker and smaller ornaments) and monogamous (lighter and larger) populations causes the greatest sexual dimorphism to be associated with polygamy. The non-social environment, however, may also influence the degree of ornamentation, for instance through availability of food. We found that, in addition to breeding system, a key environmental parameter, rainfall, predicted a seasonal change of ornamentation in a sex-specific manner. Our results emphasise that to understand the phenotype of animals, it is important to consider both natural and sexual selection acting on both males and females

Nitrogen deposition in Natura2000 areas caused by industry, traffic, and consumers

Het RIVM heeft per Natura2000-gebied in kaart gebracht hoeveel de drie sectoren Industrie en energie, Verkeer, en Consumenten bijdragen aan de hoeveelheid stikstof die op de bodem neerslaat (depositie). Hierbij is onderzocht hoe belangrijk de afstand van dez bronnen tot het Natura 2000-gebied is. Het is een aanvulling op een vergelijkbaar onderzoek naar de bijdrage van de sector Landbouw. De opdrachtgever is het ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit. De stikstofdepositie vanuit de industrie is gemiddeld twee procent van de totale depositie in Nederland. Daarmee is de bijdrage van de industrie aan de overschrijding van de stikstofbelasting in Natura2000-gebieden (kritische depositiewaarde) klein. De emissie van de industrie verspreidt zich in het algemeen over een veel groter oppervlak dan die van de landbouw. Het is daarom effectiever om de uitstoot door industriële bronnen in het algemeen te verlagen dan de depositie in specifieke natuurgebieden. Bij landbouw is dat laatste juist wel zinvol. Het RIVM beschrijft wat de invloed van stikstofemissies van industrie is op de hoeveelheid stikstof die in drie Natura2000-gebieden neerslaat: de Grote Peel, Solleveld Kapittelduinen en de Veluwe. De informatie over de andere Natura2000-gebieden wordt er in spreadsheets bij geleverd. Het overzicht geeft ook inzicht welke de industriebedrijven het meeste bijdragen aan de depositie. Verder is voor de sectoren Verkeer en Consumenten beschreven hoever de bronnen afzitten van een natuurgebied waar ze stikstofneerslag veroorzaken. Hun bijdrage ligt tussen die van Industrie en de Landbouw in. De uitstoot van verkeer verspreidt zich op vrij grote afstanden. Het wegverkeer ten zuiden van Amsterdam bijvoorbeeld veroorzaakt relatief veel stikstofneerslag op de Veluwe. Verder blijkt dat een groot deel van de Nederlandse uitstoot van ammoniak op de Nederlandse bodem terechtkomt (53 procent). Voor stikstofdioxiden is dit percentage veel lager: 12 procent. Hiervan komt het grootste deel in het buitenland op de bodem terecht.For each Natura2000 area, RIVM has estimated the quantity of nitrogen deposited on the soil that can be attributed to the Industry and Energy sector, the traffic sector, and Consumers. Within this context, an analysis was also made of the importance of the distance between these sources of nitrogen emission and the Natura 2000 area. This study supplements a similar study into the contribution made by the Agricultural sector. This study was carried out at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality (LNV). The nitrogen deposition that can be attributed to the industrial sector is on average 2% of the total deposition in the Netherlands. As a result, the contribution of the industrial sector to the excessive nitrogen load in Natura2000 areas (>critical deposition value) is small. The emission from industry is spread out over a much larger area than the emission from agriculture. It is therefore much less effective to focus on reducing the emission from industrial sources located near a Natura 2000 area in comparison to an overall reduction of emissions. The report presents the results for three examples of Natura2000 areas: the Grote Peel, Solleveld Kapittelduinen and the Veluwe. The information on the other Natura2000 areas is appended in the form of spreadsheets. The report also provides insight into the industrial companies that contribute the most to the deposition. The Traffic and Consumer sectors were analysed in a similar fashion. Their contribution lies in between the contributions made by industry and agriculture. In addition, the distance between the Consumer source and the Natura2000 area is less important than is the case for agricultural emissions but more important than for industrial emissions. Furthermore, it turns out that a large share (53%) of the Dutch emission of ammonia ends up on Dutch soil. This percentage is much less for nitrogen dioxides, namely 12%. The largest share of these emissions ends up on the soil outside the Netherlands.Ministerie van LN