Sustainable inland transportation

Inland navigation is often mentioned as a ‘green’ alternative for the two other main inland transport modes: rail and road transport. In order to investigate the opportunities for inland navigation we first analyze the competitive position of inland navigation vis-àvis the other main inland transport modes. For that, we perform a comparative study on the current sustainability performance of the three modes. Second, through a case study, we analyze a recent initiative for sustainable innovation of inland navigation in order to assess the barriers and opportunities for improving the competitive position of sustainable inland navigation

The Influence of Age and Sex on Genetic Associations with Adult Body Size and Shape : A Large-Scale Genome-Wide Interaction Study

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 100 genetic variants contributing to BMI, a measure of body size, or waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHRadjBMI), a measure of body shape. Body size and shape change as people grow older and these changes differ substantially between men and women. To systematically screen for age-and/or sex-specific effects of genetic variants on BMI and WHRadjBMI, we performed meta-analyses of 114 studies (up to 320,485 individuals of European descent) with genome-wide chip and/or Metabochip data by the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium. Each study tested the association of up to similar to 2.8M SNPs with BMI and WHRadjBMI in four strata (men 50y, women 50y) and summary statistics were combined in stratum-specific meta-analyses. We then screened for variants that showed age-specific effects (G x AGE), sex-specific effects (G x SEX) or age-specific effects that differed between men and women (G x AGE x SEX). For BMI, we identified 15 loci (11 previously established for main effects, four novel) that showed significant (FDR= 50y). No sex-dependent effects were identified for BMI. For WHRadjBMI, we identified 44 loci (27 previously established for main effects, 17 novel) with sex-specific effects, of which 28 showed larger effects in women than in men, five showed larger effects in men than in women, and 11 showed opposite effects between sexes. No age-dependent effects were identified for WHRadjBMI. This is the first genome-wide interaction meta-analysis to report convincing evidence of age-dependent genetic effects on BMI. In addition, we confirm the sex-specificity of genetic effects on WHRadjBMI. These results may providefurther insights into the biology that underlies weight change with age or the sexually dimorphism of body shape.Peer reviewe

Sustainable inland transportation

Inland navigation is often mentioned as a ‘green’ alternative for the two other main inland transport modes: rail and road transport. In order to investigate the opportunities for inland navigation we first analyze the competitive position of inland navigation vis-àvis the other main inland transport modes. For that, we perform a comparative study on the current sustainability performance of the three modes. Second, through a case study, we analyze a recent initiative for sustainable innovation of inland navigation in order to assess the barriers and opportunities for improving the competitive position of sustainable inland navigation

Economic evaluation of folate supplementation during methotrexate treatment in rheumatoid arthritis.

Contains fulltext : 57208.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)OBJECTIVE: To determine cost-effectiveness of folic or folinic acid supplementation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who started methotrexate (MTX) treatment. METHODS: An economic evaluation, performed alongside a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial with followup of 48 weeks. Patients started MTX with placebo (n = 137), folic acid (n = 133), or folinic acid (n = 141). Outcome measures were drug survival and quality-adjusted life-years (QALY), measured with the EuroQol questionnaire. Both medical and nonmedical costs were analyzed. RESULTS: Drug survival after 48 weeks was 60% for placebo, 81% for folic acid, and 87% for folinic acid. QALY during a 48 week period were 0.55 (95% CI 0.52-0.58) in the placebo group, 0.55 (95% CI 0.52-0.58) in the folic acid group, and 0.58 (95% CI 0.56-0.60) in the folinic acid group. Mean medical costs were 1398 US dollars (placebo), 1409 US dollars (folic acid), and 1776 US dollars (folinic acid). Mean total costs were 3339 US dollars, 3632 US dollars, and 3296 US dollars, respectively. CONCLUSION: In terms of resource deployment, no statistically significant difference was found between the 3 strategies. The preferred strategy consists of folic acid supplementation because of improved drug survival