Dike Reconstruction Polder Oudendijk

Reconstruction of dikes on soft subsoil is a common practice in the Netherlands. However in recent years some slidings of innerslopes have occurred in the execution phase due to very large and rapidly placed replenishments. Therefore investigations have been made for new methods to determine the short term stability of the soil structures. This paper describes the problems experienced during the reconstruction of a polder dike in the western part of the Netherlands, based on which several new methods are tested

Adaptation to high ethanol reveals complex evolutionary pathways

Tolerance to high levels of ethanol is an ecologically and industrially relevant phenotype of microbes, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this complex trait remain largely unknown. Here, we use long-term experimental evolution of isogenic yeast populations of different initial ploidy to study adaptation to increasing levels of ethanol. Whole-genome sequencing of more than 30 evolved populations and over 100 adapted clones isolated throughout this two-year evolution experiment revealed how a complex interplay of de novo single nucleotide mutations, copy number variation, ploidy changes, mutator phenotypes, and clonal interference led to a significant increase in ethanol tolerance. Although the specific mutations differ between different evolved lineages, application of a novel computational pipeline, PheNetic, revealed that many mutations target functional modules involved in stress response, cell cycle regulation, DNA repair and respiration. Measuring the fitness effects of selected mutations introduced in non-evolved ethanol-sensitive cells revealed several adaptive mutations that had previously not been implicated in ethanol tolerance, including mutations in PRT1, VPS70 and MEX67. Interestingly, variation in VPS70 was recently identified as a QTL for ethanol tolerance in an industrial bio-ethanol strain. Taken together, our results show how, in contrast to adaptation to some other stresses, adaptation to a continuous complex and severe stress involves interplay of different evolutionary mechanisms. In addition, our study reveals functional modules involved in ethanol resistance and identifies several mutations that could help to improve the ethanol tolerance of industrial yeasts

A prospective methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus typing system for infection control : design and effectiveness

The uptake of Gadomer-17, as probed by fast dynamic T(1) measurements, was used to assess the vascular permeability surface-area product per leakage volume of tissue (k(Tofts)) of human glioma xenografts implanted in mice. With this approach we could discriminate between two types of glioma xenograft lines with a known difference in the perfused vascular architecture and degree of hypoxia. The T(1) data were analyzed according to the Tofts-Kermode compartment model. The fast-growing E102 tumor demonstrated a homogeneous distribution of the vascular permeability surface area across the tumor (mean k(Tofts) value = 0.18 +/- 0.05 min(-1)). The slowly growing E106 tumor showed a more heterogeneous pattern. Three perfused tumor areas with differences in vascular permeability surface area could be distinguished: a well-perfused periphery with high k(Tofts) values (0.24 +/- 0.04 min(-1)), perfused capillaries inside the tumor with low k(Tofts) values (0.108 +/- 0.026 min(-1)), and perfused capillaries adjacent to necrotic regions with high k(Tofts) values (0.29 +/- 0.10 min(-1)). On a different series of tumors, the hypoxic fractions were measured, and these were significantly higher in E106 tumors (0.14 +/- 0.05) compared to tumors of the E102 line (0.03 +/- 0.02)

Diet and kwashiorkor: a prospective study from rural DR Congo

The etiology of kwashiorkor remains enigmatic and longitudinal studies examining potential causes of kwashiorkor are scarce. Using historical, longitudinal study data from the rural area of Bwamanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, we investigated the potential causal association between diet and the development of kwashiorkor in 5 657 preschool children followed 3-monthly during 15 months. We compared dietary risk factors for kwashiorkor with those of marasmus. Kwashiorkor was diagnosed as pitting oedema of the ankles; marasmus as abnormal visibility of skeletal structures and palpable wasting of the gluteus muscle. A 24-h recall was administered 3-monthly to record the consumption of the 41 locally most frequent food items. We specified Hanley–Miettinen smooth-in-time risk models containing potential causal factors, including food items, special meals prepared for the child, breastfeeding, disease status, nutritional status, birth rank, age, season and number of meals. Bayesian Information Criteria identified the most plausible causal model of why some children developed kwashiorkor. In a descriptive analysis of the diet at the last dietary assessment prior to development of kwashiorkor, the diet of children who developed kwashiorkor was characterized by low consumption of sweet potatoes, papaya and “other vegetables” [0.0% , 2.3% (95% CI [0.4, 12.1]) and 2.3% (95% CI [0.4, 12.1])] in comparison with children who did not develop kwashiorkor [6.8% (95% CI [6.4, 7.2]), 15.5% (95% CI [15, 16.1]) and 15.1% (95% CI [14.6, 15.7])] or children who developed marasmus [4.5% (95% CI [2.6, 7.5]) 11.8% (95% CI [8.5, 16.0]) and 17.6% (95% CI [13.7, 22.5])]. Sweet potatoes and papayas have high β-carotene content and so may some of “the other vegetables”. We found that a risk model containing an age function, length/height-for age Z-score, consumption of sweet potatoes, papaya or other vegetables, duration of this consumption and its interaction term, was the most plausible model. Among children aged 10–42 months, the risk of developing kwashiorkor increased with longer non-consumption of these foods. The analysis was repeated with only children who developed marasmus as the reference series, yielding similar results. Our study supports that β-carotene may play an important role in the protection against kwashiorkor development

A comparison of some Dutch spelling reform proposals affecting verb inflection

Wetensch. publicati

Aflatoxin Contamination in Food and Body Fluids in Relation to Malnutrition and Cancer Status in Cameroon

Aflatoxins are food contaminants usually associated with hepatitis, immunodepression, impairment of fertility and cancer. The present work was to determine the presence of aflatoxins in eggs, milk, urine, and blood samples that were collected from various sources and periods; and hepatitis B virus antigen in blood samples. Aflatoxin was found in eggs (45.2%), cow raw milk (15.9%), breast milk (4.8%), urine from kwashiorkor and marasmic kwashiorkor children (45.5%), and sera from primary liver cancer patients (63.9%); HbsAg was also detected in 69.4% of the serum samples, but there was no association between both factors. Both AF and hepatitis B virus seem to be risk factors that could increase the incidence and prevalence rates of malnutrition and cancer in Cameroon

Evidence for the positive-strangeness pentaquark Θ+\Theta^+ in photoproduction with the SAPHIR detector at ELSA

The positive--strangeness baryon resonance $\Theta^+$ is observed in photoproduction of the $\rm nK^+K^0_s$ final state with the SAPHIR detector at the Bonn ELectron Stretcher Accelerator ELSA. It is seen as a peak in the $\rm nK^+$ invariant mass distribution with a $4.8\sigma$ confidence level. We find a mass $\rm M_{\Theta^+} = 1540\pm 4\pm 2$ MeV and an upper limit of the width $\rm \Gamma_{\Theta^+} < 25$ MeV at 90% c.l. From the absence of a signal in the $\rm pK^+$ invariant mass distribution in $\rm\gamma p\to pK^+K^-$ at the expected strength we conclude that the $\Theta^+$ must be isoscalar.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Photoproduction of pi0 omega off protons for E(gamma) < 3 GeV

Differential and total cross-sections for photoproduction of gamma proton to proton pi0 omega and gamma proton to Delta+ omega were determined from measurements of the CB-ELSA experiment, performed at the electron accelerator ELSA in Bonn. The measurements covered the photon energy range from the production threshold up to 3GeV.Comment: 8 pages, 13 figure