Making Sense of EU State-aid Requirements; The case of Green Services

This article describes the establishment of a new local governance arrangement called `Green Service¿ in the Netherlands. Under this programme, farmers are financially rewarded - by both public and private bodies - for their nature and landscape management and development activities. Despite a general positive stance, it has taken considerable efforts and time for these programmes to take off, in particular due to uncertainties and discussions on whether these activities would be feasible under the EU state aid regime. The multi level setting in which these rules had to be complied with contributed much to the long lasting discussion on how to interpret these rules and threatened the credibility of this new governance arrangement. We will describe and explain this process by using a so-called `processual institutional¿ approach and more specifically by drawing on the socio-cognitive literature on conflict escalation (Pruitt and Rubin 1986; Rubin, Pruitt et al. 1994)

Genotype-specific response of a lycaenid herbivore to elevated carbon dioxide and phosphorus availability in calcareous grassland

Effects of elevated CO2 and P availability on plant growth of the legume Lotus corniculatus and consequences for the butterfly larvae of Polyommatus icarus feeding on L. corniculatus were investigated in screen-aided CO2 control chambers under natural conditions on a calcareous grassland in the Swiss Jura mountains. Elevated CO2 conditions and P fertilisation increased the biomass production of L. corniculatus plants and affected the plant chemical composition. CO2 enrichment increased the C/N ratio and sugar concentration and decreased the N and P concentrations. C- and N-based allelochemicals (cyanoglycosides, total polyphenols and condensed tannins) were only marginally affected by CO2 enrichment. P fertilisation increased the specific leaf area and concentrations of water, N, sugar and P, while the C/N ratio and the concentration of total polyphenols decreased. Furthermore, P availability marginally enhanced the effect of elevated CO2 on the total dry mass and sugar concentration while the opposite occurred for the total polyphenol concentration. The changes in food-plant chemistry as a result of P fertilisation positively affected larval mass gain and accelerated the development time of P. icarus. Only a marginal negative effect on larval mass gain was found for CO2 enrichment. However, we found genotype-specific responses in the development time of P. icarus to elevated CO2 conditions. Larvae originating from different mothers developed better either under elevated CO2 or under ambient CO2 but some did not react to CO2 elevation. As far as we know this is the first finding of a genotype-specific response of an insect herbivore to elevated CO2 which suggests genetic shifts in insect life history traits in response to elevated CO

Effects of fertilization and elevated CO2 on larval food and butterfly nectar amino acid preference in Coenonympha pamphilus L

The effects of larval diet on the nutritional preferences of butterflies has rarely been examined. This study investigates whether alterations in the larval diet result in changes in adult preferences for nectar amino acids. Larvae of Coenonympha pamphilus were raised on fertilized or unfertilized Festuca rubra, grown under ambient (350ppm) or elevated (750ppm) atmospheric CO2 environments. Fertilization led to marked increases in leaf nitrogen concentration. In plants grown under elevated CO2 conditions, leaf water and nitrogen concentrations were significantly lower, and the C/N-ratio increased significantly. Fertilization of the host plant shortened the development time of C. pamphilus larvae, and pupal weight increased. In contrast, larvae of C. pamphilus developed significantly slower on F. rubra grown under elevated CO2, but adult emergence weight was not affected by CO2 treatment of the plant. C. pamphilus females showed a clear preference for nectar mimics containing amino acids, whereas males, regardless of treatment, either preferred the nectar mimic void of amino acids or showed no preference for the different solutions. Female butterflies raised on fertilized plants showed a significant decline in their preference for nectar mimics containing amino acids. A slight, but not significant, trend towards increased nectar amino acid preference was found in females raised on plants grown under elevated CO2. We clearly demonstrate that alterations in larval host quality led to changes in butterfly nectar preferences. The ability of the butterfly to either rely less on nectar uptake or compensate for poor larval conditions represents a trade-off between larval and adult butterfly feedin

Congenital Intercostal Lung Herniation Combined with an Unusual Morgagni's Hernia

A 70-year-old male visited urgent care due to coughing for 1 month and left chest pain. He had no history of trauma. The initial chest computed tomography (CT) showed the 7th left intercostal lung herniation. A follow-up CT showed an intercostal lung herniation combined with a bowl herniation, which had developed due to a Morgagni's hernia. An emergency operation was performed due to the incarceration of the bowl and lung. The primary repair of the diaphragm was performed and the direct approximation of the 7th intercostal space was determined. We concluded that the defect of the diaphragm and the intercostal muscle was a congenital lesion, and the recurrent coughing was the aggravating factor of herniation

Design of a robust railway line system for severe winter conditions in The Netherlands

Winter weather has a major impact on railway operations in The Netherlands. To stay in control, the number of trains is reduced by half in a special “winter timetable”. This results in a more robust network, but an insufficient amount of transport capacity. Adapting the line system can result in more transport capacity without losing robustness. This paper therefore focuses on the performance of a line system under extreme weather conditions. We define several criteria to assess the performance of the line system in terms of robustness and transport capacity. A case study has been conducted on the railway network in The Netherlands, which indicates that all alternatives are more robust and yield more transport capacity than the current winter timetable

Yersinia enterocolitica : Genes involved in cold-adaptation

It is known from the literature that: -The application of chilling as a means of food preservation has frequently resulted in food borne infections with psychrotrophic micro-organisms, such as Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes and Aeromonas hydrophila; - The injurious effect on human health of an infection with Y. enterocolitica should not be underestimated because of the risk of serious post-infective complications; - Almost all micro-organisms respond to an abrupt temperature down shift (within their growth range) by a temporary cessation of growth, and the concomitant transient synthesis of a set of specific proteins, called 'cold-shock-proteins'; - Many psychrotrophic micro-organisms synthesize at low temperatures a set of proteins, called 'cold-acclimation-proteins', whose expression is either enhanced or specifically induced at these temperatures; - To explain the induction and function of the cold-shock response, a model called the Cold-Shock Ribosomal Adaptation (CSRA-) model has been proposed; - This model comprises four steps, i.e. (1) cancelling of the regular translation of 'household' gene mRNA's, in favour of the translation of cold-shock gene mRNA's, (2) specific modification of the ribosome by the cold-shock proteins, (3) the re-initiation of regular mRNA translation, and (4) the concomitant down regulation of the expression of cold-shock genes; - The CSRA-model does not explain why the production of cold-shock and/or cold acclimation proteins does not cease in psychrotrophs; - The inability of mesophiles to sustain growth at temperatures below 7 degrees C has been explained as a result of insufficient cold-shock response, compared to psychrotrophs; -Polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) , one of the two essential 3'-5'exoribonucleases in E. coli, is a cold-shock protein, but the gene is not cold-inducible by its own promoter. The other 3'-5'exoribonuclease, RNaseII, is not cold induced; - PNPase is able to interact with the ribosome, and PNPase is better at the degrading of mRNA's which contain secondary structures, compared to its counterpart RNaseII; - PNPase uses a relatively energy-saying mode of mRNA degradation, compared to RNaseII, and has in that way a central position in the efficient turnover of the essential DNA-precursor cytosine diphosphate (CDP) ; - Energy levels are growth limiting for E, coli at low temperatures. It has been shown in the present study that: The emergence of Y. enterocolitica as a human pathogen in our era can at least partly be explained as a result of the enormously increased application of refrigeration in the preservation of foods; - The ability of Y. enterocolitica to grow at refrigerator temperatures is dependent on expression of the bacterial pnp gene, encoding the exoribonuclease polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase); The cellular concentration of PNPase in Y. enterocolitica is increased during growth at refrigeration temperatures; -. The cold-induced rise of the PNPase concentration in Yersinia enterocolitica is accompanied by an increase in pnp mRNA, and this is mediated by a cold-inducible promoter of the pnp gene; - A similar cold-induced increase in PNPase concentration occurs in all other, invariably psychrotrophic, species of the genus Yersinia; - In all other Yersinia species, the organization of the regulatory regions of the pnp gene is identical to that in Y. enterocolitica. It is concluded that: PNPase is an essential factor for adaptation to reduced temperatures, presumably not only in Y. enterocolitica, but also in other, mesophilic bacteria; Due to its ability to interact with ribosomes, PNPase fits well in the CSRA-model. Its mode of action may be in the enhanced decay of those mRNA's which have lost their polysomes, resulting in a more efficient synthesis as well as in increased translation of the mRNA's of the cold-shock genes; - . According to this function in the CSRA-model, PNPase might be a restrictive factor for efficient cold-adaptation. Consequently, an insufficient enhancement at 7 degrees C or below, or a subsequent decline of PNPase expression, might be the cause of the definitive cessation of growth of mesophiles at this temperature; - In view of the cellular difficulties in liberating sufficient energy under cold-stress conditions, it is not unlikely that the lower temperature limit for growth is set by the cellular capacity to maintain the catabolism under these conditions; - On behalf of its energy-saving mode of mRNA decay, PNPase could be the key factor that is needed under energy-limiting conditions to provide the cell with the obligatory DNA-precursor cytosine diphosphate (CDP) ; - Further studies are needed to unravel how pnp-expression is regulated and what role is played by PNPase in the process of cold-adaptation, in order to elucidate the mechanism(s) which set the lower temperature limit for growth of micro-organisms

Positive effects of cyanogenic glycosides in food plants on larval development of the common blue butterfly

Cyanogenesis is a widespread chemical defence mechanism in plants against herbivory. However, some specialised herbivores overcome this protection by different behavioural or metabolic mechanisms. In the present study, we investigated the effect of presence or absence of cyanogenic glycosides in birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus, Fabaceae) on oviposition behaviour, larval preference, larval development, adult weight and nectar preference of the common blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus, Lycaenidae). For oviposition behaviour there was a female-specific reaction to cyanogenic glycoside content; i.e. some females preferred to oviposit on cyanogenic over acyanogenic plants, while other females behaved in the opposite way. Freshly hatched larvae did not discriminate between the two plant morphs. Since the two plant morphs differed not only in their content of cyanogenic glycoside, but also in N and water content, we expected these differences to affect larval growth. Contrary to our expectations, larvae feeding on cyanogenic plants showed a faster development and stronger weight gain than larvae feeding on acyanogenic plants. Furthermore, female genotype affected development time, larval and pupal weight of the common blue butterfly. However, most effects detected in the larval phase disappeared for adult weight, indicating compensatory feeding of larvae. Adult butterflies reared on the two cyanogenic glycoside plant morphs did not differ in their nectar preference. But a gender-specific effect was found, where females preferred amino acid-rich nectar while males did not discriminate between the two nectar mimics. The presented results indicate that larvae of the common blue butterfly can metabolise the surplus of N in cyanogenic plants for growth. Additionally, the female-specific behaviour to oviposit preferably on cyanogenic or acyanogenic plant morphs and the female-genotype-specific responses in life history traits indicate the genetic flexibility of this butterfly species and its potential for local adaptatio