Dioxins in Food and Feed - Reference Methods and New Certified Reference Materials (DIFFERENCE)

The European research project DIFFERENCE (“Dioxins in Food and Feed – Reference methods and New Certified Reference Materials”) was focussed on the development of an alternative methods for analysis of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) using comprehensive multi-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC), gas chromatography combined with low resolution ion-trap mass spectrometry (GCLRMS/ MS), the CALUX bioassay and an Ah-PCR technique. GC combined with high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was used as a reference method in all comparisons

Robust license plate recognition using neural networks trained on synthetic images

In this work, we describe a License Plate Recognition (LPR) system designed around convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained on synthetic images to avoid collecting and annotating the thousands of images required to train a CNN. First, we propose a framework for generating synthetic license plate images, accounting for the key variables required to model the wide range of conditions affecting the aspect of real plates. Then, we describe a modular LPR system designed around two CNNs for plate and character detection enjoying common training procedures and train the CNNs and experiment on three different datasets of real plate images collected from different countries. Our synthetically trained system outper- forms multiple competing systems trained on real images, showing that synthetic images are effective at training a CNNs for LPR if the training images have sufficient variance of the key variables controlling the plate aspect

Optimisation of Pressurized Liquid Extraction for the Determination of Seven Selected Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Feed Samples: Effects of High Lipid Amounts and Lipid Type on Fat Retention

Pressurized liquid extraction was utilized for the extraction of seven selected polychlorinated biphenyls from a naturally contaminated fishmeal and two feed samples fortified with a naturally contaminted fish oil sample. In order to assure sufficient extraction efficiencies, the extraction solvent, the extraction temperature, and the flush volume were optimised by a factorial design approach. The results of the analyses revealed that the impact of these parameters on the extraction of PCBs differed depending on which matrix that was analysed. For fishmeal, an elevated extraction temperature was imprtant to obtain the highest values for the recovery rates whereas for the feed samples high extraction efficiencies could be obtained for all temperatures investigated in the study. In addition, the solvent had an impact on the extraction of PCBs, however, the influence was less pronounced than the impact of temperature. The final conditions, resulting in high recovery rates for all PCBs in matrices, were found to be temperatures above 100°C using n-heptane as extraction solvent, while the flush volume had very limited effects on the extraction efficiency.JRC.D.8-Food safety and qualit

Demographic, economic and social drivers

Key Messages: (1) Human activities and processes of all types -- demographic, economic and social -- can exert pressures on water resources and need to be managed. (2) These pressures are in turn affected by a range of factors such as technological innovation, institutional and financial conditions and climate change. (3) The rapid global rise in living standards combined with population growth presents the major threat to the sustainability of water resources and environmental services

Dioxins in Food and Feed - Reference Methods and New Certified Reference Materials (DIFFERENCE)

The European research project DIFFERENCE (“Dioxins in Food and Feed – Reference methods and New Certified Reference Materials”) was focussed on the development of an alternative methods for analysis of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) using comprehensive multi-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC), gas chromatography combined with low resolution ion-trap mass spectrometry (GCLRMS/ MS), the CALUX bioassay and an Ah-PCR technique. GC combined with high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was used as a reference method in all comparisons

Significance of White-Coat Hypertension in Older Persons With Isolated Systolic Hypertension A Meta-Analysis Using the International Database on Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Relation to Cardiovascular Outcomes Population

The significance of white-coat hypertension in older persons with isolated systolic hypertension remains poorly understood. We analyzed subjects from the population-based 11-country International Database on Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Relation to Cardiovascular Outcomes database who had daytime ambulatory blood pressure (BP; ABP) and conventional BP (CBP) measurements. After excluding persons with diastolic hypertension by CBP (≥90 mm Hg) or by daytime ABP (≥85 mm Hg), a history of cardiovascular disease, and persons <18 years of age, the present analysis totaled 7295 persons, of whom 1593 had isolated systolic hypertension. During a median follow-up of 10.6 years, there was a total of 655 fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events. The analyses were stratified by treatment status. In untreated subjects, those with white-coat hypertension (CBP ≥140/<90 mm Hg and ABP <135/<85 mm Hg) and subjects with normal BP (CBP <140/<90 mm Hg and ABP <135/<85 mm Hg) were at similar risk (adjusted hazard rate: 1.17 [95% CI: 0.87–1.57]; P=0.29). Furthermore, in treated subjects with isolated systolic hypertension, the cardiovascular risk was similar in elevated conventional and normal daytime systolic BP as compared with those with normal conventional and normal daytime BPs (adjusted hazard rate: 1.10 [95% CI: 0.79–1.53]; P=0.57). However, both treated isolated systolic hypertension subjects with white-coat hypertension (adjusted hazard rate: 2.00; [95% CI: 1.43–2.79]; P<0.0001) and treated subjects with normal BP (adjusted hazard rate: 1.98 [95% CI: 1.49–2.62]; P<0.0001) were at higher risk as compared with untreated normotensive subjects. In conclusion, subjects with sustained hypertension who have their ABP normalized on antihypertensive therapy but with residual white-coat effect by CBP measurement have an entity that we have termed, “treated normalized hypertension.” Therefore, one should be cautious in applying the term “white-coat hypertension” to persons receiving antihypertensive treatment