Watertemperatuur van de Rijn: Protoype voor temperatuurvoorspelling in FEWS

De afgelopen jaren is de problematiek van koelwaterlozingen in relatie tot hoge watertemperatuur van de grote rivieren regelmatig in de actualiteit gekomen. Volgens het Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat (2008) is sinds 1900 de watertemperatuur van de Rijn bij Lobith met 3°C toegenomen, waarvan 2°C door warmtelozingen en 1°C door klimaatverandering. Ook zijn de gemiddelde watertemperatuur en de maximale en minimale watertemperatuur van de Rijn bij Lobith in de afgelopen honderd jaren toegenomen. Van der Grinten et al. (2007) geeft ook een toenemende tendens aan van het aantal dagen per jaar dat de watertemperatuur boven de 20°C of 25°C komt. De watertemperatuur van de Rijn wordt beïnvloed door meteorologische condities (bijv. hittegolven), de watertemperatuur en afvoer van zijrivieren en grondwater, en door de warmtelozingen. In Nederland betekent een hittegolf een vijfdaagse periode met luchttemperaturen boven 25°C, waarvan er drie de 30°C bereiken. De kans op een hittegolf neemt met klimaatverandering toe. Bijvoorbeeld, de herhalingstijd van een warme en droge zomer zoals in 2003 is op dit moment één keer in de 10 jaren, maar in 2050 wordt het één keer in de twee jaren (Zwolsman & Van Vliet, M., 2007). Als het rivierwater bovenstrooms teveel is opgewarmd, beperkt het de koelwatercapaciteit en drinkwatervoorziening. De wateren voor drinkwaterproductie staan ook onder druk omdat de innametemperatuur niet hoger dan 25°C mag zijn (richtlijn 75/440/EEG en drinkwaterrichtlijn 98/83/EG). Ook ecologische effecten kunnen plaatsvinden bij toename van de watertemperatuur. RIVM definieert een Goede Ecologische Toestand (GET) voor watertemperatuur in Nederland voor grote rivieren van 25°C (Van der Grinten et al., 2007). Peñailillo et al., (2008) geeft aan dat in 2003 de maximale achtergrond watertemperatuur (zonder een temperatuurtoename door warmtelozingen) de 25°C bij Lobith overschreed met 1°C, terwijl de riviertemperatuur (met temperatuurtoename door warmtelozingen) dat deed met 4°C

The impairment test of goodwill: an empirical analysis of incentives for earnings management in Italian publicly traded companies

Since the current International Accounting Standard 36 introduced substantial subjectivity while testing goodwill for impairment, this study aims to establish if management exploits the discretion and performs the impairment test of goodwill opportunistically. The presence of discretion, while applying impairment test, is tested on the sample of Italian publicly traded companies in the period of the current financial crisis. Despite the fact that the sample of companies consists of those with market to book ratio less than one, only 26% of the companies recorded a goodwill write-off. The logistic regression was used to test contracting and reporting incentives. The results of the analysis indicate that even in the case of IFRS users some incentives exist, while recognising the impairment losses of goodwill

Intrawound Treatment for Prevention of Surgical Site Infections in Instrumented Spinal Surgery : A Systematic Comparative Effectiveness Review and Meta-Analysis

Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Objectives: To determine the efficacy of intrawound treatments in reducing deep surgical site infections (SSIs) in instrumented spinal surgery. Methods: The electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane were systematically searched for intrawound treatments for the prevention of SSIs in clean instrumented spine surgery. Both randomized controlled trials and comparative cohort studies were included. The results of included studies were pooled for meta-analysis. Results: After full text- and reference screening, 20 articles were included. There were 2 randomized controlled trials and 18 observational studies. Sixteen studies investigated the use of intrawound antibiotics, and 4 studies investigated the use of intrawound antiseptics. The relative risk of deep SSI for any treatment was 0.26 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.16-0.44, P < .0001), a significant reduction compared with controls receiving no treatment. For patients treated with local antibiotics the relative risk was 0.29 (95% CI 0.17-0.51, P < .0001), and patients treated with local antiseptics had a relative risk of 0.14 (95% CI 0.05-0.44, P = .0006). Conclusions: Both the use of antibiotic and antiseptic intrawound prophylactics was associated with a significant 3 to 7 times reduction of deep SSIs in instrumented spine surgery. No adverse events were reported in the included studies

Direct detection and identification of Mycobacterium ulcerans in clinical specimens by PCR and oligonucleotide-specific capture plate hybridization.

We compared various diagnostic tests for their abilities to detect Mycobacterium ulcerans infection in specimens from patients with clinically active disease. Specimens from 10 patients from the area of Zangnanado (Department of Zou, Benin) with advanced, ulcerated active M. ulcerans infections were studied by direct smear, histopathology, culture, PCR, and oligonucleotide-specific capture plate hybridization (OSCPH). A total of 27 specimens, including 12 swabs of exudate collected before debridement and 15 fragments of tissue obtained during debridement, were submitted to bacteriologic and histopathologic analysis. The histopathologic evaluation of tissues from all six patients so tested revealed changes typical of those caused by M. ulcerans infection. Five specimens were contaminated, and M. ulcerans was cultivated on Löwenstein-Jensen medium from 12 of the remaining 22 (54.5%) specimens. Detection of mycobacteria was performed by PCR, and M. ulcerans was detected by OSCPH with a new probe (5'-CACGGGATTCATGTCCTGT-3') reacting with M. ulcerans and Mycobacterium marinum. In 10 of 22 (45.5%) specimens, M. ulcerans was identified by PCR-OSCPH. There was no statistically significant difference between the detection of M. ulcerans by culture and by PCR-OSCPH (P > 0.05). This is the first demonstration of an amplification system (PCR-OSCPH) with a sensitivity similar to that of culture for the direct and rapid recognition of M. ulcerans in clinical specimens. This system is capable of identifying M. ulcerans, even in paucibacillary lesions. Our findings suggest that PCR-OSCPH should be used in the quest for the elusive environmental reservoir(s) of M. ulcerans

Treating infections with ionizing radiation: a historical perspective and emerging techniques

BACKGROUND: Widespread use and misuse of antibiotics have led to a dramatic increase in the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, while the discovery and development of new antibiotics is declining. This has made certain implant-associated infections such as periprosthetic joint infections, where a biofilm is formed, very difficult to treat. Alternative treatment modalities are needed to treat these types of infections in the future. One candidate that has been used extensively in the past, is the use of ionizing radiation. This review aims to provide a historical overview and future perspective of radiation therapy in infectious diseases with a focus on orthopedic infections. METHODS: A systematic search strategy was designed to select studies that used radiation as treatment for bacterial or fungal infections. A total of 216 potentially relevant full-text publications were independently reviewed, of which 182 focused on external radiation and 34 on internal radiation. Due to the large number of studies, several topics were chosen. The main advantages, disadvantages, limitations, and implications of radiation treatment for infections were discussed. RESULTS: In the pre-antibiotic era, high mortality rates were seen in different infections such as pneumonia, gas gangrene and otitis media. In some cases, external radiation therapy decreased the mortality significantly but long-term follow-up of the patients was often not performed so long term radiation effects, as well as potential increased risk of malignancies could not be investigated. Internal radiation using alpha and beta emitting radionuclides show great promise in treating fungal and bacterial infections when combined with selective targeting through antibodies, thus minimizing possible collateral damage to healthy tissue. CONCLUSION: The novel prospects of radiation treatment strategies against planktonic and biofilm-related microbial infections seem feasible and are worth investigating further. However, potential risks involving radiation treatment must be considered in each individual patient.</p

Treating infections with ionizing radiation: a historical perspective and emerging techniques

BACKGROUND: Widespread use and misuse of antibiotics have led to a dramatic increase in the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, while the discovery and development of new antibiotics is declining. This has made certain implant-associated infections such as periprosthetic joint infections, where a biofilm is formed, very difficult to treat. Alternative treatment modalities are needed to treat these types of infections in the future. One candidate that has been used extensively in the past, is the use of ionizing radiation. This review aims to provide a historical overview and future perspective of radiation therapy in infectious diseases with a focus on orthopedic infections. METHODS: A systematic search strategy was designed to select studies that used radiation as treatment for bacterial or fungal infections. A total of 216 potentially relevant full-text publications were independently reviewed, of which 182 focused on external radiation and 34 on internal radiation. Due to the large number of studies, several topics were chosen. The main advantages, disadvantages, limitations, and implications of radiation treatment for infections were discussed. RESULTS: In the pre-antibiotic era, high mortality rates were seen in different infections such as pneumonia, gas gangrene and otitis media. In some cases, external radiation therapy decreased the mortality significantly but long-term follow-up of the patients was often not performed so long term radiation effects, as well as potential increased risk of malignancies could not be investigated. Internal radiation using alpha and beta emitting radionuclides show great promise in treating fungal and bacterial infections when combined with selective targeting through antibodies, thus minimizing possible collateral damage to healthy tissue. CONCLUSION: The novel prospects of radiation treatment strategies against planktonic and biofilm-related microbial infections seem feasible and are worth investigating further. However, potential risks involving radiation treatment must be considered in each individual patient.Biomaterials & Tissue Biomechanic

The impact of bioturbation by small mammals on heavy metal redistribution in an embanked floodplain of the river Rhine

Contains fulltext : 35222.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Floodplains along large European rivers are diffusely polluted with heavy metals due to emissions in the past. Because of lowmobility of heavy metals in floodplain soils and improvements of water quality, these pollutants will remain in place, and can gradually become covered with less contaminated sediments. Bioturbators, especially earthworms, can play an important role in the mixing and surfacing of contaminated substrate. Surfaced substrate can be redistributed by recurrent flooding events, even to areas outside the floodplain. The question remained to what extent bioturbation by small mammals contributes to the redistribution of heavy metals from river sediments in floodplains. Extensive fieldwork on bioturbators such as voles, moles and earthworms and their distribution patterns, as well as on sediment deposition and bioturbation, was conducted at the �Afferdensche en Deestsche Waarden� floodplain over the years 2001�2003. Field data were combined with data of experiments in field enclosures and substrate columns to calculate the amounts of sediment and heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd) redistributed during the floods as well as on an annual basis. Moles and voles surfaced considerable amounts of substrate and heavy metals, but not as much as earthworms which contribute a substantial proportion of the total deposition and redistribution during floods. Although the impact of moles and voles on the redistribution during floods was only locally important, on an annual basis the bioturbation activity of especially moles in floodplains cannot be neglected. The annual amounts of substrate and heavy metals surfaced by all investigated bioturbators were even larger than the total amounts of substrate and heavy metals deposited during floods