Classification societies and immunity from jurisdiction

One of the issues that may arise when a classification society acts on behalf of a flag state carrying out statutory certification services is whether the classification society can rely on the same defences as a state when held liable. The most important of these defences is immunity from jurisdiction. In the cases arising from the incidents with the Erika1 and the Prestige2 this indeed played a role and, more recently, this was also the case before the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) in the matter of the Al-Salam Boccaccio 98.3 These cases are discussed below. One of the criteria that is of relevance to assess whether a classification society may rely on immunity is the legal basis for the work performed. The article will address the various roles of classification societies, their commercial classification activities and statutory activities as delegates of flag states

Cognitive processing of spatial relations in Euclidean diagrams

The cognitive processing of spatial relations in Euclidean diagrams is central to the diagram-based geometric practice of Euclid's Elements. In this study, we investigate this processing through two dichotomies among spatial relations—metric vs topological and exact vs co-exact—introduced by Manders in his seminal epistemological analysis of Euclid's geometric practice. To this end, we carried out a two-part experiment where participants were asked to judge spatial relations in Euclidean diagrams in a visual half field task design. In the first part, we tested whether the processing of metric vs topological relations yielded the same hemispheric specialization as the processing of coordinate vs categorical relations. In the second part, we investigated the specific performance patterns for the processing of five pairs of exact/co-exact relations, where stimuli for the co-exact relations were divided into three categories depending on their distance from the exact case. Regarding the processing of metric vs topological relations, hemispheric differences were found for only a few of the stimuli used, which may indicate that other processing mechanisms might be at play. Regarding the processing of exact vs co-exact relations, results show that the level of agreement among participants in judging co-exact relations decreases with the distance from the exact case, and this for the five pairs of exact/co-exact relations tested. The philosophical implications of these empirical findings for the epistemological analysis of Euclid's diagram-based geometric practice are spelled out and discussed

Sources of dietary protein and risk of hypertension in a general Dutch population

Evidence suggests a small beneficial effect of dietary protein on blood pressure (BP), especially for plant protein. We examined the relationship between several types of dietary protein (total, plant, animal, dairy, meat and grain) and the risk of hypertension in a general population of 3588 Dutch adults, aged 26–65 years, who were free of hypertension at baseline. Measurements were done at baseline and after 5 and 10 years of follow-up. Hazard ratios (HR), with 95 % CI, for incident hypertension were obtained in tertiles of energy-adjusted protein, using time-dependent Cox regression models. Models were adjusted for age, sex, BMI, education, smoking, baseline systolic BP, dietary confounders and protein from other sources (if applicable). Mean BP was 118/76 mmHg at baseline. Protein intake was 85 (sd 22) g/d (approximately 15 % of energy) with 62 % originating from animal sources. The main sources of protein were dairy products (28 %), meat (24 %) and grain (19 %). During the follow-up, 1568 new cases of hypertension were identified (44 % of the participants). Energy-adjusted intake of total protein, plant protein and animal protein was not significantly associated with hypertension risk (all HR approximately 1·00, P>0·60). Protein from grain showed a significant inverse association with incident hypertension, with a HR of 0·85 (95 % CI 0·73, 1·00, Ptrend = 0·04) for the upper tertile ( = 18 g/d) v. the lower tertile ( <14 g/d), whereas dairy protein and meat protein were not associated with incident hypertension. In conclusion, higher intake of grain protein may contribute to the prevention of hypertension, which warrants confirmation in other population-based studies and randomised controlled trials

Dietary protein and blood pressure : epidemiological studies

Background Elevated blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Diet and lifestyle have a substantial impact on blood pressure, but the role of protein intake is not yet clear. This thesis focuses on total dietary protein, types of protein (i.e. plant and animal), protein from specific sources (i.e. dairy, meat, and grain), and specific amino acids in relation to blood pressure levels and incident hypertension. Methods The associations of dietary protein, protein types, and protein from specific sources with population blood pressure levels were cross sectionally examined in 20,820 Dutch adults aged 25 to 65 y (MORGEN Study). The relation with risk of hypertension was examined in 3,588 of these adults with 15 years of follow-up (Doetinchem Study) and in 2,241 older Dutch adults (≥55y) with 6 years of follow-up (Rotterdam Study). In the latter cohort we also examined the relation of specific amino acids (i.e. glutamic acid, arginine, lysine, cysteine, tyrosine, and essential amino acids) with blood pressure levels and risk of hypertension. As an ancillary Study, a fully controlled randomized cross over trial with different protein-rich diets was conducted to obtain objective biomarkers for dietary protein types that may be used in future epidemiological studies. Finally, we performed several meta-analyses to summarize our findings for dietary protein and protein types in relation to blood pressure and incident hypertension, combined with data from the literature. Results The epidemiological studies presented in this thesis and a meta analysis of observational studies showed no associations of total protein and animal protein with blood pressure or incident hypertension. A meta analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials, however, showed a pooled blood pressure effect of protein supplementation (weighed mean contrast in intake of 41 g/d) of 2.1 mmHg systolic (95%-CI: 2.9 to 1.4) when compared to carbohydrate intake. In the epidemiological studies in this thesis plant protein was significantly inversely associated to blood pressure levels ( 1.8/ 1.0 mmHg with 14 grams higher energy adjusted intake), but not with incident hypertension (all HR per SD ~1.00). Meta-analyses of cross sectional studies showed a small differential association of plant and animal protein with blood pressure (-0.52 mmHg per SD of dietary plant protein versus +0.03 mmHg per SD of animal protein), but this association was not present in meta-analyses of prospective studies and trials. The epidemiological analyses on meat protein and dairy protein in this thesis revealed no consistent associations with blood pressure or incident hypertension. Grain protein was inversely associated with diastolic (but not systolic) blood pressure, and with borderline significant lower risk of hypertension in a general Dutch population (HR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.73 to 1.00), but this association was absent in older adults. No associations with blood pressure or incident hypertension were found for amino acid intakes. Finally, we identified a combination of 3 urinary amino acids as a potential biomarker for meat protein intake and a combination of 7 plasma amino acids as a potential biomarker for grain protein intake Conclusion Results from this thesis suggest a small beneficial effect of protein on blood pressure if consumed instead of carbohydrates. Plant protein, e.g. from grain, may be more beneficial to blood pressure than animal protein but data are too limited to draw firm conclusions. After validation, future epidemiological studies could make use of biomarkers as more robust estimates for protein from specific sources and amino acid intakes. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to examine the blood pressure effect of specific types of protein, reflecting habitual intakes in western societies, compared to different types of carbohydrate. At present, a prudent diet for the prevention of hypertension with adequate amounts of dietary protein, preferable from plant sources, is recommended. </p

Experiences with reviewing data management plans - an LCRDM survey

Deze dataset bevat de resultaten van een survey over het reviewen van datamanagementplannen (DMPs). Het survey is uitgevoerd door de werkgroep Onderzoeksondersteuning en Advies van het Landelijk Coördinatiepunt Research Data Management (LCRDM). Zestig respondenten deelden hun ervaringen en feedback op DMPs via deze survey. De dataset bevat een beknopt rapport, de surveyvragen en de geanonimiseerde data

Quality of self-reported cognition: effects of age and gender on spatial navigation self-reports

Health and self-regulatio