Ecologisch profiel van het Nonnetje (<i>Macoma balthica</i>)

(See below for English summary) Het Nonnetje (Macoma balthica) is een voor de ondiepe kustwateren van Nederland karakteristiel tweekleppig schelpdier dat ondiep ingegraven in de bodem leeft. Vooral op de bij laag water droog vallende platen in het Waddenzeegebied en in Ooster- en Westerschelde is het een belangrijke soort. Het Nonnetje is in het project Watersysteemverkenningen (WSV) gekozen als doelvariabele om de milieukwaliteit van de Nederlandse zoute wateren te toetsen. In het Ecoprofiel komt naar voren dat dichtheid en biomassa van het Nonnetje beïnvloedbaar zijn door de mate van eutrofiëring van onze kustwateren. Zo wordt de in de laatste decennia toegenomen dichtheid en biomassa in de westelijke Waddenzee in verband gebracht met eutrofiëring door afvoer van voedingsstoffen (o.a. vanuit het IJsselmeer). In het oostelijk deel van de Westerschelde heeft verontreiniging een nadelige invloed gehad op de ontwikkeling van populaties van het Nonnetje. Oudere dieren ontbreken hier nagenoeg. Storten van baggerspecie heeft pas dan negatief effect op lokaal aanwezige Nonnetjes als meer dan 10 cm slib wordt afgezet. Ze raken dan definitief begraven en overleven niet. -English- The Baltic Tellin (Macoma balthica) is a characteristic and common bivalve mollusc in Dutch coastal waters. It lives shallowly buried in the sediment, and is especially abundant at intertidal flats in Wadden Sea, Oosterschelde and Westerschelde. In the 'Aquatic Outlook' project the species was chosen as a sentinel organism for measuring environmental quality of coastal waters. The data compiled in this document suggest that abundance and biomass of Macoma balthica may be dependent of the degree of eutrophication of our coastal waters. In fact, the increase in abundance and biomass during the last t w o decades observed in the western Dutch Wadden Sea has been related to the discharge of nutrients f r om lake IJsselmeer. In the eastern part of the Westerschelde pollution had a negative effect on the development of populations of Macoma balthica. Older specimens are hardly present here. Dumping of dredged material will affect local populations of Macoma balthica only if more than ca. 10 cm of fine sediment is deposited. The animals then get buried and do not survive.Watersysteemverkenningen (WSV) 199

A determination of the molar gas constant R by acoustic thermometry in helium

We have determined the acoustic and microwave frequencies of a misaligned spherical resonator maintained near the temperature of the triple point of water and filled with helium with carefully characterized molar mass M = (4.002 6032 ± 0.000 0015) g mol-1, with a relative standard uncertainty ur(M) = 0.37×10-6. From these data and traceable thermometry we estimate the speed of sound in our sample of helium at TTPW = 273.16 K and zero pressure to be u0 2 = (945 710.45 ± 0.85) m2 s-2 and correspondingly deduce the value R = (8.314 4743 ± 0.000 0088) J mol-1 K-1 for the molar gas constant. We estimate the value k = R/NA = (1.380 6508 ± 0.000 0015) × 10-23 J K-1 for the Boltzmann constant using the currently accepted value of the Avogadro constant NA. These estimates of R and k, with a relative standard uncertainty of 1.06 × 10-6, are 1.47 parts in 106 above the values recommended by CODATA in 2010

Comparison of xenon triple point realizations

It is widely recognized that the Mercury triple point (MTP) being situated very close to the Water triple point (WTP) constitutes a weakness in the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90), in addition to safety concerns related to the use and transportation of Mercury. As such, a substitution for a safer, high-quality fixed point about half way between the Argon and Water triple points would be highly desirable. Now, a direct comparison is described of a Xenon cell filled in 2005 by the National Research Council Canada (NRC) and a more recently produced cell of the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRIM). The present paper discusses the INRiM 2017 measurements on both the INRiM and NRC cells, with a follow-up measurement at NRC, and presents the difference between the two cells, (0.17 ± 0.08) mK with the uncertainties of each cell’s realization of the Xenon triple point (XeTP), 0.11 mK for the INRiM cell and 0.07 mK for the NRC cell (k = 1). In addition, the effect of substituting Mercury with Xenon on Type 1 non-uniqueness (‘SRI’, subrange inconsistency), Type 3 non-uniqueness (‘NU3’, cSPRT variability) and propagation of fixed point realization uncertainty is shown and discussed

2022 Update for the Differences Between Thermodynamic Temperature and ITS-90 Below 335 K

In 2011, a working group of the Consultative Committee for Thermometry published their best estimates of the differences between the thermodynamic temperature T and its approximation (T-90), the temperature according to the International Temperature Scale of 1990, ITS-90. These consensus estimates, in combination with measurements made in accordance with ITS-90, are an important alternative to primary thermometry for those requiring accurate measurements of thermodynamic temperature. Since 2011, there has been a change in the definition of the kelvin and significant improvements in primary thermometry. This paper updates the (T - T-90) estimates by combining and analyzing the data used for the 2011 estimates and data from more recent primary thermometry. The results of the analysis are presented as a 12th-order polynomial representing the updated consensus values for the differences and a sixth-order polynomial for their uncertainty estimates. (C) 2022 Author(s)

Parental functioning during maintenance treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Effects of treatment intensity and dexamethasone pulses

Background: During maintenance treatment, Dutch pediatric patients with medium-risk (MR) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) receive intravenous chemotherapy and cyclic dexamethasone. Dexamethasone affects child's sleep and behavior. Standard-risk (SR) patients only receive oral chemotherapy, without dexamethasone. Effects of stratified therapy on parents are not well known. This study compares parental sleep, distress and quality of life (QoL) with the general population, between MR and SR groups, and on- and off-dexamethasone (MR group). Procedure: One year after diagnosis, parents of MR patients completed the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) sleep, distress thermometer for parents and Short Form-12 (SF-12) twice; once on-dexamethasone and once off-dexamethasone. SR parents completed one measurement. Sleep problems, distress and QoL scores (off-dexamethasone) were compared to reference values and between MR and SR. Score differences on- and off-dexamethasone were assessed by multilevel regression analysis. Results: Parents (80% mothers) of 121 patients (57% males; 75% MR, 25% SR) completed 191 measurements. Compared to reference values, parents reported more sleep disturbances, higher distress, and lower mental QoL. Additionally, MR parents reported clinical distress (score ≥ 4), whereas SR parents (on average) did not (mean 4.8 ± 2.4 vs 3.5 ± 2.4, P =.02). Within the MR group, outcomes did not significantly differ on- and off-dexamethasone. Conclusions: Parents of ALL patients report sleep problems, high distress, and QoL impairment. Within the MR group, parental functioning did not differ on- and off-dexamethasone. However, MR parents reported clinical distress more often than SR parents, possibly reflecting differences in prognostic estimates and treatment burden. This perhaps includes the overall strain of cyclic dexamethasone. This study highlights the need for psychosocial support throughout treatment, regardless of risk stratification