Shortlist Masterplan Wind. Effect of pilling noise on the survival of fish larvae( pilot study) progress report

Fish can suffer lethal damage to swimming bladder or other organs due to extreme loud impulse sounds caused by e.g. pile driving (Popper & Hastings 2009). Juvenile and adult fish can actively swim away from a sound source, but planktonic larvae are not able to do this. As a result, fish larvae may suffer more from underwater noise than the older life stages. Despite the many indications for adverse effects, detailed information on the effect of different sound levels on fish is still scarce, especially for the early life stages. Within the framework of the Appropriate Assessment of Dutch offshore wind farms, the effect of piling noise on the southern North Sea population of herring, sole, and plaice larvae was simulated (Prins et al. 2009). For this, an existing larval transport model (Bolle et al. 2005, 2009, Dickey-Collas et al. 2009, Erftemeijer et al. 2009) was expanded with crude assumptions on larval mortality caused by pile driving. The model results were extrapolated to other fish species and older life stages, based on “expertjudgment", in an attempt to assess the effect of offshore piling on the prey availability for birds and marine mammals in Natura 2000 areas (Bos et al. 2009). This assessment involved a large number of uncertainties. The first and most important uncertainty was the range around a piling site in which larval mortality occurs. It was assumed that 100% mortality occurs up to a distance of 1 km from the piling site. However, little is known about larval mortality rates in relation to the level of exposure to piling noise. In general, there is an urgent need to obtain more knowledge on the effect of sound on fish (survival, distribution, and behaviour) during different life stages. More particularly, in view of the rapid extension of offshore wind farms, there is an urgent need to fill the knowledge gap on lethal effects of loud impulse noises caused by pile driving. The broader aim of the current project is to examine the effect of piling noise on the survival of fish larvae. However, within the limited resources and time frame of the Shortlist research programme it is not possible to carry out field experiments, nor is it possible to execute elaborate series of experiments. The first goal within the Shortlist programme is to examine the feasibility of laboratory experiments with pile driving noise and fish larvae. The second goal is to use the laboratory set-up in a pilot study aiming at determining the threshold at which mortality of fish larvae occurs. This shortlist study is limited to laboratory experiments, lethal effects, larvae of 1 species (sole, Solea solea) and 3 series of experiments (trials). The study consists of exposure-effect experiments only; the effects of pile driving at the population level will not be modelled, nor will the results be extrapolated to other species or life stages. The progress to date has been documented in a series of memo’s. These memos are included in this report as Appendices and are summarised in the sections of the report

Genetic screening and democracy: lessons from debating genetic screening criteria in the Netherlands

Recent decades have witnessed increasing possibilities for genetic testing and screening. In clinical genetics, the doctor’s office defined a secluded space for discussion of sensitive reproductive options in cases of elevated risk for genetic disorders in individuals or their offspring. When prenatal screening for all pregnant women became conceivable, the potential increase in scale made social and ethical concerns relevant for the whole of society. Whereas genetic testing in clinical genetic practice was widely accepted, prenatal screening at a population level met with unease. Concerns were raised regarding social pressure to screen: the sum of individual choice might result in a ‘collective eugenics’. The government’s involvement also raised suspicion: actively offering screening evoked associations with eugenic population policies from the first half of the 20th century. By reconstructing elements of policy and public debate on prenatal screening in the Netherlands from the past 30 years, this article discusses how the government has gradually changed its role in balancing the interest of the individual and the collective on genetic reproductive issues. Against a background of increasing knowledge about and demand for prenatal screening among the population, governmental policy changed from focusing on protection by banning screening toward facilitating screening in a careful and ethically sound way by providing adequate information, decision aids and quality assessment instruments. In the meanwhile, invigorating democracy in public debate may entail discussing concepts of ‘the good life’ in relation to living with or without impairments and dealing with genetic information about oneself or one’s offspring

Pain in elderly people with severe dementia: A systematic review of behavioural pain assessment tools

BACKGROUND: Pain is a common and major problem among nursing home residents. The prevalence of pain in elderly nursing home people is 40–80%, showing that they are at great risk of experiencing pain. Since assessment of pain is an important step towards the treatment of pain, there is a need for manageable, valid and reliable tools to assess pain in elderly people with dementia. METHODS: This systematic review identifies pain assessment scales for elderly people with severe dementia and evaluates the psychometric properties and clinical utility of these instruments. Relevant publications in English, German, French or Dutch, from 1988 to 2005, were identified by means of an extensive search strategy in Medline, Psychinfo and CINAHL, supplemented by screening citations and references. Quality judgement criteria were formulated and used to evaluate the psychometric aspects of the scales. RESULTS: Twenty-nine publications reporting on behavioural pain assessment instruments were selected for this review. Twelve observational pain assessment scales (DOLOPLUS2; ECPA; ECS; Observational Pain Behavior Tool; CNPI; PACSLAC; PAINAD; PADE; RaPID; Abbey Pain Scale; NOPPAIN; Pain assessment scale for use with cognitively impaired adults) were identified. Findings indicate that most observational scales are under development and show moderate psychometric qualities. CONCLUSION: Based on the psychometric qualities and criteria regarding sensitivity and clinical utility, we conclude that PACSLAC and DOLOPLUS2 are the most appropriate scales currently available. Further research should focus on improving these scales by further testing their validity, reliability and clinical utility