WinMon Activity Report 2013-2014

Belgium has allocated a 238 km² zone of the Belgian part of the North Sea to offshore renewable energy production, for example offshore wind farms. Prior to construction, a developer needs obtaining a domain concession and an environmental permit. The latter includes a number of terms and conditions to minimise or mitigate the environmental impact of the wind farm project. This also imposes a monitoring programme to assess the potential impacts on the marine environment. The environmental monitoring programme targets physical (hydro-geomorphology and underwater noise), biological (epifouling community on the hard substratum, macro and epibenthos of the soft substratum, fish, seabirds and marine mammals), as well as socio-economic (seascape perception and offshore renewables appreciation) aspects of the marine environment. The Operational Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature) of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) coordinates the monitoring programme. To cover all necessary scientific expertise OD Nature collaborates with several institutes: the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO - Bio-Environmental research group), Ghent University (Marine Biology Research Group and INTEC), International Marine and Dredging Consultants (IMDC) and Grontmij Belgium NV. The Belgian offshore wind farm environmental monitoring programme started in 2005 with the t.i data collection at C-Power wind farm on the Thorntonbank, where the first wind turbines were installed in 2008. The monitoring programme is running continuously since 2008 (i.e. to) and now (July 2015) covers three wind farms (i.e. C-Power, Belwind and Northwind) with a total of 181 wind turbines. This report provides an overview of the monitoring activities that took place in the years 2013 and 2014. These cover the investigation of soft sediment benthos and fish, hard substrate benthos, seabirds and marine mammals. The activity overview distinguishes between basic and targeted monitoring, with basic monitoring focusing on the observation of the overall offshore wind farm impact and targeted monitoring aiming at the understanding of the ecological mechanisms behind a selection of observed impacts. For each activity, its objectives, methodologies used and data collected in 2013 and 2014 are presented. If further information on specific sections would be needed, do not hesitate getting in touch with the contact point as identified for each sectio

Industrial Freeform Generation of Microtools by Laser Micro Sintering

Precision tools with structural resolution reaching the 20 micrometer range can be generated on an industrial scale by “laser micro sintering”. Components featuring aspect ratios above 12 and a roughness Ra down to 1.5 micrometers have already been produced from sub micrometer grained metal powders. The components can be generated either firmly attached to a substrate or fixed in an easily separable mode. If supporting structures are employed, undercuts up to 90° are feasible, without, a process parameter dependent maximum angles of undercut below 90° are obtained. The process has been introduced into the market, labeled microSINTERING by 3D-Micromac AG.Mechanical Engineerin

Principles of Laser Micro Sintering

Laser Micro Sintering was introduced to the international community of freeform fabrication engineers in 2003 and has since been employed for a variety of applications. It owes its unique features to certain effects of q-switched pulses that formerly had been considered detrimental in selective laser sintering. Besides sub-micrometer sized powders also materials with grain sizes of 1-10 micrometers can be sintered. Surface and morphology of the product are influenced by grain size and process environment. First results have been achieved with processing ceramic materials. A comprehensive overview of the process and the features is given supported by experimental evidence. Routes of further development are indicated.Mechanical Engineerin

Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α in thyroid carcinomas

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) is upregulated by hypoxia and oncogenic signalling in many solid tumours. Its regulation and function in thyroid carcinomas are unknown. We evaluated the regulation of HIF-1α and target gene expression in primary thyroid carcinomas and thyroid carcinoma cell lines (BcPAP, WRO, FTC-133 and 8505c). HIF-1α was not detectable in normal tissue but was expressed in thyroid carcinomas. Dedifferentiated anaplastic tumours (ATCs) exhibited high levels of nuclear HIF-1α staining. The HIF-1 target glucose transporter 1 was expressed to a similar level in all tumour types, whereas carbonic anhydrase-9 was significantly elevated in ATCs. In vitro studies revealed a functionally active HIF-1α pathway in thyroid cells with transcriptional activation observed after graded hypoxia (1% O2, anoxia) or treatment with a hypoxia mimetic cobalt chloride. High basal and hypoxia-induced expression of HIF-1α in FTC-133 cells that harbour a phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) mutation was reduced by introduction of wild-type PTEN. Similarly, pharmacological inhibition of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway using LY294002 inhibited HIF-1α and HIF-1α targets in all cell lines, including those with B-RAF mutations (BcPAP and 8505c). In contrast, the effects of inhibition of the RAF/MEK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway were restricted by environmental condition and B-RAF mutation status. HIF-1 is functionally expressed in thyroid carcinomas and is regulated not only by hypoxia but also via growth factor signalling pathways and, in particular, the PI3K pathway. Given the strong association of HIF-1α with an aggressive disease phenotype and therapeutic resistance, this pathway may be an attractive target for improved therapy in thyroid carcinomas