The Measurement of Language Lateralization with Functional Transcranial Doppler and Functional MRI: A Critical Evaluation

Cerebral language lateralization can be assessed in several ways. In healthy subjects, functional MRI (fMRI) during performance of a language task has evolved to be the most frequently applied method. Functional transcranial Doppler (fTCD) may provide a valid alternative, but has been used rarely. Both techniques have their own strengths and weaknesses and as a result may be applied in different fields of research. Until now, only one relatively small study (n = 13) investigated the correlation between lateralization indices (LIs) measured by fTCD and fMRI and showed a remarkably high correlation. To further evaluate the correlation between LIs measured with fTCD and fMRI, we compared LIs of 22 healthy subjects (12 left- and 10 right-handed) using the same word generation paradigm for the fTCD as for the fMRI experiment. LIs measured with fTCD were highly but imperfectly correlated with LIs measured with fMRI (Spearman's rho = 0.75, p < 0.001). The imperfectness of the correlation can partially be explained by methodological restrictions of fMRI as well as fTCD. Our results suggest that fTCD can be a valid alternative for fMRI to measure lateralization, particularly when costs or mobility are important factors in the study design

Annual survey air quality 2001

The air quality for 2001 is found to strongly resemble that for 2000. The decreasing trend in concentrations seen in the nineties, is still valid on the whole. Concerning the meteorological influences, 2001 can be considered as a normal year. Widespread exceedances occurred for ozone and PM10, and in the deposition of potential acid and total nitrogen. In the urban environment, exceedances of the annual mean limit value for NO2 occurred along road length of about 2000 km. Calculations for benzene and benzo[a]pyrene showed that exceedances were incidental. This annual air quality survey provides an overview of the air quality and the load placed on soils and surface water by atmospheric deposition in the Netherlands, on the basis of measurements and model calculations. The report describes global, photochemical, acidifying, particulate and local air pollution. Special attention has been paid to the Dutch air quality in relation to the new European legislation on air quality.Als we de luchtkwaliteit over 2001 vergelijken met die van 2000 blijken deze in grote lijnen met elkaar overeen te komen. De trendmatige daling van concentraties heeft zich in grote lijnen doorgezet. 2001 was wat meteorologische invloed betreft een normaal jaar. Normoverschrijdingen op landelijke schaal hebben zich voorgedaan van ozon, zwevende deeltjes (PM10), depositie van potentieel zuur en stikstof. In de stedelijke omgeving is de jaargemiddelde norm NO2 overschreden langs een weglengte van circa 2000 km. Voor benzeen en benzo[a]pyreen geven berekeningen aan dat incidenteel overschrijdingen van grenswaarden kunnen zijn voorgekomen. In het jaaroverzicht luchtkwaliteit 2001 wordt op basis van metingen en modelberekeningen een samenvattend beeld gegeven van de luchtkwaliteit en de belasting van bodem en oppervlaktewater door atmosferische depositie in Nederland over 2001. Het rapport beschrijft de onderwerpen: mondiale, fotochemische, verzurende, deeltjesvormige en lokale luchtverontreiniging. Als extra onderwerp is een hoofdstuk opgenomen over de Nederlandse luchtkwaliteit in relatie tot de nieuwe Europese wetgeving voor luchtkwaliteit

Innovation in enterprise clusters: evidence from Dutch manufacturing

Cette étude aborde et illustre un problème d'agrégation qui peut se poser dans les études d'innovation. Les données utilisées sont celles de la troisième enquête innovation aux Pays-Bas, qui sont jumelées aux statistiques de la production et aux données financières des sociétés. Nous comparons les résultats de l'estimation d'une équation d'innovation, obtenus tour à tour à partir de données au niveau des entreprises (bedrijfseenheid), des grappes d'entreprises domestiques (onderneming), et des grappes d'entreprises ayant des filiales à l'étranger ou contenant des filiales de firmes étrangères installées aux Pays-Bas.This paper explores the aggregation problem and illustrates its relevance using data for the Netherlands from the third Community Innovation Survey (CIS3), and production and financial statistics. It compares the results of an innovation output equation that was estimated using data on enterprises (bedrijfseenheid), domestic enterprise clusters (onderneming), and those enterprise clusters with foreign inward or outward investments

Low prevalence of non-typable Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in meat products in The Netherlands

Recently, a new clone of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus (S.) aureus (MRSA) emerged in the Netherlands that was related to pigfarming. A survey in pigs showed that nearly 40% carried this new clone. This new type is characterised by bemg untypable with pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). This study was undertaken to determme the prevalence and genetic relationship of S.aureus and MRSA in meal products

Knowledge and innovation: The strings between global and local dimensions of sustainable growth

The modern growth literature pays much attention to innovation and knowledge as drivers of endogenous developments in a competitive open economic system. This paper reviews concisely the literature in this field and addresses in particular micro- and macro-economic interactions at local or regional levels, based on clustering and networking principles, in which sustainability conditions also play a core role. The paper then develops a so-called knowledge circuit model comprising the relevant stakeholders, which aims to offer a novel framework for applied policy research at the meso-economic level

Rapid assessment of regional SARS-CoV-2 community transmission through a convenience sample of healthcare workers, the Netherlands, March 2020

To rapidly assess possible community transmission in Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands, healthcare workers (HCW) with mild respiratory complaints and without epidemiological link (contact with confirmed case or visited areas with active