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The Zechstein salt in the Dutch part of the North Sea Basin played a key role in the generation of successful petroleum plays. This is not only because of its sealing capacity, but also because the salt occurs in structures that provide lateral and vertical traps. The structural styles of areas with thick salt and those with none- or thin salt are completely different during phases of extensional or compressional tectonics. This indicates that, indirectly, the depositional thickness of the main Zechstein salt is essential in regulating the loci of the Dutch petroleum systems. In this paper we aim at quantifying current ideas on the relationship between 1) depositional salt thicknesses; 2) structural style of the main structural elements identified in the Dutch subsurface; 3) timing of deformation; and 4) thickness of the overburden. By finalisation of TNO’s subsurface mapping program (see Kombrink et al., this issue), several data products are available that allow evaluation of these relationships. The depositional thickness of the salt was estimated using iterative smoothing of the present day thickness, the results of which account both for regional thickness variations and volume preservation (99%). Fault-distribution analysis shows that faults are only able to penetrate salt with a depositional thickness of

Background: Testicular microlithiasis (TM) is a relatively uncommon and usually asymptomatic condition that is characterized by multiple 1-3 mm nonshadowing echogenic foci within the parenchyma of the testis. Objectives: The prevalence of testicular microlithiasis was assessed retrospectively in males ranging from 0-18 years who had been referred for scrotal ultrasound. Materials and Methods: Scrotal ultrasound examinations were performed in males aged 0-18 years old, producing 401 scans in 363 patients. The accumulated data included referring specialist, indication for sonography, consultant radiologist, number of images available for review of the left and right testis, associated anomalies, histological results, and testicular tumor markers. Results: Testicular microlithiasis was found in 21 patients (5.8%). The mean age of the patients with and without testicular microlithiasis was 11.3 and 6.7 years, respectively (P = 0.000). Significantly more images were available for patients with testicular microlithiasis (P = 0.000), yet only 8 of the 21 cases (38.1%) were identified by the consultant radiologists. None of the boys with testicular microlithiasis were found to have a testicular malignancy. Conclusions: our study showed a prevalence of testicular microlithiasis of 5.8% in symptomatic boys. The prevalence seemed to increase with age. Consultant radiologists are advised to be more vigilant towards testicular microlithiasis and to scan and store a sufficient number of imaging planes during ultrasonography. © 2012, Kowsar M.P.Co.

Objectives: Age is the most prominent predisposition for development of osteoarthritis (OA). Age-related changes of articular cartilage are likely to play a role. Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) accumulate in cartilage matrix with increasing age and adversely affect the biomechanical properties of the cartilage matrix and influence chondrocyte activity. In clinical studies AGEing of cartilage and its relation to actual cartilage damage can only be measured by surrogate markers (e.g., serum, skin or urine AGE levels and imaging or biochemical markers of cartilage damage). In this study actual cartilage AGE levels were directly related to actual cartilage damage by use of cartilage obtained at joint replacement surgery. Methods: Cartilage and urine samples were obtained from 69 patients undergoing total knee replacement. Samples were analyzed for pentosidine as marker of AGE. Cartilage damage was evaluated macroscopically, histologically, and biochemically. Results: Cartilage and urine pentosidine both increased with increasing age. The higher the macroscopic, histological, and biochemical cartilage damage the lower the cartilage pentosidine levels were. In multiple regression analysis age is not found to be a confounder. Conclusion: There is an inverse relation between cartilage AGEs and actual cartilage damage in end-stage OA. This is likely due to ongoing (ineffective) increased turnover of cartilage matrix proteins even in end stage disease. © 2011 Osteoarthritis Research Society International.

Marine ecosystems on continental shelves endure an increasing burden of human activity offshore, and the impacts on benthic habitats are not well known. An improved understanding of how benthic habitats vary in relation to substrate types and seabed features is therefore essential to both scientists and offshore developers. This case study shows that marine habitats over two tidal ridges in the North Sea vary from low-density/low-diversity communities on the well-sorted sandy crests of ridges to high-density/high-diversity communities in the poorly sorted muddy, gravelly sediments in the adjacent troughs. On sandy continental shelves, including the Netherlands Continental Shelf (NCS) in the North Sea, tidal bedforms occur of different spatial scales, such as sand banks (tidal ridges), sand waves, and megaripples. Marine habitat maps reveal that benthic habitats vary spatially on continental shelves in relation to seabed morphology, water depth, and sediment composition. The different morphological elements of tidal ridges are expected to accommodate different benthic habitats. Some tidal ridge areas in the North Sea are nominated to become marine protected areas, but are also attractive for their marine aggregates and may be designated in part as mining areas. Due to their composition and shallow water depths, tidal ridges are also suitable locations for the construction of offshore wind farms. To date, the characteristics of relatively inaccessible seabeds are too poorly understood to explain the effects of physical parameters on benthic communities. Therefore, it is important to expand our understanding of benthic habitat variations associated with tidal ridges, for the benefit of both science and offshore development. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Objectives: To validate near-infrared (NIR)-based optical spectroscopy measurements of hepatic fat content using a minimally invasive needle-like probe with integrated optical fibers, enabling real-time feedback during percutaneous interventions. The results were compared with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) as validation and with histopathology, being the clinical gold standard. Additionally, ex vivo magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high-performance thin-layer chromatography were performed for comparison. Materials and Methods: Ten mice were used for the study, of which half received a regular chow diet and the other half received a high-fat diet to induce obesity and hepatosteatosis. The mice were imaged with a clinical 3-Tesla MR to select a region of interest within the right and left lobes of the liver, where MRS measurements were acquired in vivo. Subsequently, optical spectra were measured ex vivo at the surface of the liver at 6 different positions immediately after resection. Additionally, hepatic fat was determined by magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high-performance thin-layer chromatography. Histopathologic analyses were performed and used as the reference standard. Pearson correlation and linear regression analyses were performed to assess the correlation of the various techniques with NIR. A 1-way analysis of variance including post hoc Tukey multiple comparison tests was used to study the difference in fat estimation between the various techniques. Results: For both the mice groups, the estimated fat fractions by the various techniques were significantly similar (P = 0.072 and 0.627 for chow diet and high-fat diet group, respectively). The Pearson correlation value between NIR and the other techniques for fat determination showed the same strong linear correlation (P above 0.990; P < 0.001), whereas for histopathologic analyses, which is a rather qualitative measure, the Pearson correlation value was slightly lower (P = 0.925, P < 0.001) . Linear regression coefficient computed to compare NIR with the other techniques resulted in values close to unity with MRS having the narrowest confidence interval (r = 0.935, 95% confidence interval: 0.860-1.009), demonstrating highly correlating results between NIR and MRS. Conclusions: NIR spectroscopy measurements from a needle-like probe with integrated optical fibers for sensing at the tip of the needle can quickly and accurately determine hepatic fat content during an interventional procedure and might therefore be a promising novel diagnosing tool in the clinic. © 2012 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Since July 2008 CO2 is injected into a saline aquifer near Ketzin, in Germany. The reservoir used for CO2 injection is the Stuttgart Formation of Triassic age, located at a depth of about 650 m. Close to the injection well, TNO designed and implemented a permanent shallow seismic monitoring system. The system consists of 3C-geophones and hydrophones at locations along a line of 130 meters and at depths up to 50 meters. Since September 2009 up to date the array has recorded passive seismic data continuously. A procedure has been developed to automatically detect and locate very low magnitude seismic events. This paper describes the first results, including a calibration test with a known surface source, where two months data have been investigated in detail. Over 20.000 seismic events were detected automatically during this period, of which the 200 strongest ones were analyzed in more detail. Localization of these 200 events learned, that more than 99% originate from a single location at the surface, most likely related to industrial activity. Much weaker events originating from the subsurface have been observed as well. Interpretation and localization of these events is ongoing.

Het aantal stedelijke hitte-eilanden in Nederland is veel groter dan je zou verwachten. De meeste steden in Nederland zijn namelijk relatief klein en behoren niet tot het rijtje van wereldsteden. Satellietbeelden, opgenomen tijdens een hittegolfperiode in 2006, laten zien dat bijna elke stad met een hitte-eilandeffect te maken heeft

This paper investigates the possibility for iron fortification of food using protein gel particles in which iron is entrapped using cold-set gelation. The aim is to optimize the iron encapsulation efficiency of whey protein by giving the whey protein different heat treatment prior to gelation with iron. The effect of the heat treatment conditions (mild-intermediate-severe) on the iron-induced cold-set gelation process was studied to optimize the gel strength in relation to the iron concentration. Rheology was used to study the protein gel formation, and the stability of the gel particles and iron encapsulation efficiency was determined by measuring the protein and iron content at different pH. Both the iron concentration and the heat treatment conditions appear to affect the gel formation process and gel strength of the iron-induced cold-set gels. With the protein gel particles being stable at a broad pH range, the release of iron from the particles was studied as a function of time. The low release of iron at neutral pH indicated good encapsulation efficiency and capability of whey protein to keep iron bound. At low pH the release of iron increased, as is desired for bio-accessibility. In addition to differences in gel strength, the most relevant result caused by the pre-treatment of the whey protein is revealed in the amount of iron that can be entrapped per protein. It is shown that the amount of iron can be increased going from mild to severe heat treatment conditions. This suggests that the concept of using whey protein particles with iron can effectively be used to fortify food products with iron for human consumption. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

ln 2010 begon het project Hydrochip met als doel een DNA-chip te ontwikkelen waarmee men de biodiversiteit van aquatische habitats snel en objectief kan analyseren. De chip wordt initieel ontwikkeld voor kiezelalgen. Van ongeveer 80 soorten kiezelalgen zijn unieke DNA-fragmenten verwerkt in een eerste prototype van de chip. De eerste resultaten uit de praktijk zijn beschikbaar en zien er veelbelovend uit.

This paper reports modeling of gas field produc-tion and CO2 injection from a theoretical reser-voir based on characteristics of the P18 gas field in the Dutch offshore, which consists of four geological deposits with different petrophysical properties. We especially focus on the brine flow during and after exploitation of the reservoir, which affects salt precipitation and dissolution in the near-well area. We first computed the water saturation (Sw) with depth, in static equilibrium with a free water level (FWL) at the bottom of the reservoir. We then computed production of the gas field, predicting a very low brine production and mobility, without salt precipitation. Subsequently, injec-tion of dry CO2 leads to dry-out and salt precip-itation in the near well zone and a maximum permeability reduction of 24%. After abandonment, brine flows towards the well, resulting in redissolution of precipitated salt, leading to salt saturated brine in the near-well bore area. After 1,000 years, it is predicted that supersaturated brine is concentrated in the lower part of the reservoir, where solid salt still remains. The computed long-term effects of brine mobility could influence predictions of well-cement degradation and well-abandonment strategies like intentional clogging.

At the request of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment a smart measurement system was developed to judge the real world NOx emission of heavy-duty vehicles. The measurement system uses a NOx - O2 sensor for the measurement of the tail pipe concentration of NOx and to estimate the tail pipe concentration of CO2 for diesel engines. A GPS measures the time-based vehicle speed profile over the test trip. Furthermore, a special data-evaluation method helps to reveal emission performance over the speed ranges of a vehicle. The method is based on collecting (binning) emissions of NOx and CO2 in speed intervals and calculates the CO2 specific NOx emissions for each interval.

Background: Currently, there is a constant need to find microbial products for maintaining or even improving host microbiota balance that could be targeted to a selected consumer group. Blood group secretor status, determining the ABO status, could be used to stratify the consumer group. Objective: We have applied a validated upper intestinal tract model (TIM-1) and culturing methods to screen potential probiotic bacteria from faeces of blood secretor and non-secretor individuals. Design: Faecal samples from healthy volunteers were pooled to age- and sex-matched secretor and nonsecretor pools. Faecal pools were run through separate TIM-1 simulations, and bacteria were cultivated from samples taken at different stages of simulations for characterisation. Results: Microbes in secretor pool survived the transit through TIM-1 system better than microbes of nonsecretor pool, especially bifidobacteria and anaerobes were highly affected. The differences in numbers of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli isolates after plate cultivations and further the number of distinct RAPDgenotypes was clearly lower in non-secretor pool than in secretor pool. Conclusions: In the present study, we showed that microbiota of secretor and non-secretor individuals tolerate gastrointestinal conditions differently and that a combination of gastrointestinal simulations and cultivation methods proved to be a promising tool for isolating potentially probiotic bacteria.

Lignocellulosic biomass is a potential feedstock for bioethanol production. Biomass hydrolysates, prepared with a procedure including pretreatment and hydrolysis, are considered to be used as fermentation media for microorganisms, such as yeast. During the hydrolysate preparation procedure, toxic compounds are released or formed which may inhibit the growth of the microorganism and thus the product formation. To study the effects of these compounds on fermentation performance, the production of various hydrolysates with diverse inhibitory effects is of importance. A platform of methods that generates hydrolysates through four different ways and tests their inhibitory effects using Bioscreen C Analyzer growth tests is described here. The four methods, based on concentrated acid, dilute acid, mild alkaline and alkaline/ oxidative conditions, were used to prepare hydrolysates from six different biomass sources. The resulting 24 hydrolysates showed great diversity on growth rate in Bioscreen C Analyzer growth tests. The approach allows the prediction of a specifi c hydrolysate’s performance and helps to select biomass type and hydrolysate preparation method for a specifi c production strain, or vice versa.

BACKGROUND: Barostat methodology is widely used for assessing visceral perception. Different barostat protocols are described with respect to the measurement of rectal compliance and visceral perception. The choice of protocols affects the duration, which is normally 60-90 min, and accuracy of the procedure. This study aimed to shorten the procedure by using the semi-random distension protocol for both compliance and visceral perception measurement and a correction based on rectal capacity (RC) instead of minimal distension pressure (MDP). METHODS: Twelve irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients (7 females) and 11 healthy controls (8 females) underwent a barostat procedure. Compliance was determined during both a staircase distension and a semi-random protocol. Visceral perception data were compared as a function of pressure or relative volume, corrected for MDP or RC, respectively. RESULTS: Compliance measurement using the semi-random protocol instead of the staircase distension protocol resulted in an overestimation in healthy volunteers, but not in IBS patients. The overall conclusion that IBS patients had a lower compliance compared to controls was not different between protocols. Data presentation of the visceral perception scores as a function of corrected volume instead of pressures corrected for MDP did not alter the conclusion that sensation scores in IBS patients were higher as compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that barostat procedures may be shortened by approximately 20 min, without losing the ability to discriminate between healthy controls and IBS patients. A correction for RC instead of MDP may improve the accuracy of the procedure.

Regional or local scale hydrological impact studies require high resolution climate change scenarios which should incorporate some assessment of uncertainties in future climate projections. This paper describes a method used to produce a multi-model ensemble of multivariate weather simulations including spatial-temporal rainfall scenarios and single-site temperature and potential evapotranspiration scenarios for hydrological impact assessment in the Dommel catchment (1,350 km 2) in The Netherlands and Belgium. A multi-site stochastic rainfall model combined with a rainfall conditioned weather generator have been used for the first time with the change factor approach to downscale projections of change derived from eight Regional Climate Model (RCM) experiments for the SRES A2 emission scenario for the period 2071-2100. For winter, all downscaled scenarios show an increase in mean daily precipitation (catchment average change of +9% to +40%) and typically an increase in the proportion of wet days, while for summer a decrease in mean daily precipitation (-16% to -57%) and proportion of wet days is projected. The range of projected mean temperature is 7. 7°C to 9. 1°C for winter and 19. 9°C to 23. 3°C for summer, relative to means for the control period (1961-1990) of 3. 8°C and 16. 8°C, respectively. Mean annual potential evapotranspiration is projected to increase by between +17% and +36%. The magnitude and seasonal distribution of changes in the downscaled climate change projections are strongly influenced by the General Circulation Model (GCM) providing boundary conditions for the RCM experiments. Therefore, a multi-model ensemble of climate change scenarios based on different RCMs and GCMs provides more robust estimates of precipitation, temperature and evapotranspiration for hydrological impact assessments, at both regional and local scale. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

The effect of desiccation on the viability of microorganisms is a question of great interest for a variety of public health questions and industrial applications. Although viability is traditionally assessed by plate counts, cultivation-independent methods are increasingly applied with the aim to gain more insight into why cells might not form colonies and to optimize production processes. To evaluate their usefulness, we applied in this study a multiparameter viability assay to selected bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus hirae, and Staphylococcus aureus) subjected to air-drying in the absence or presence of supplements. Tests included growth on solid culture medium and the measurement of membrane integrity, membrane potential, esterase and respiratory activities using fluorescent dyes. All measured parameters were responsive to desiccation stress. Results suggested that extending plate count analysis with cultivation-independent methods can greatly enhance resolution especially for moderate stress conditions, which do not get reflected in plate counts due to cellular recovery. Whereas plate counts reflect the final effect on viability, immediate measurement of cellular functions provides a snapshot picture of the fitness status at a specific point in time. Special emphasis was given to MgCl 2 which in concentrations≥50mM dramatically increased the bacterial susceptibility to desiccation in the case of the gram-negative bacteria and to a lesser extent also for the gram-positive bacteria. The study in addition confirmed a good agreement of results obtained with the recently developed real-time viability (RTV) assay and the BacLight LIVE/DEAD method in combination with a fluorescence plate reader. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Weak soils like unconsolidated clay and peat may deform and compress considerably by loading, for example, by sand bodies for roads and railways. Archaeological sites within such easily compressible soil layers may therefore be heavily affected by different kinds of construction works. The vulnerability of archaeological sites to compression is largely dependent on soil properties like lithology, grain-size, and previous loading history. This may therefore differ considerably. Predicting the compression sensitivity is of great value for planners, since they can estimate in which areas in situ protection of archaeological sites may be feasible and where it would require (costly) technical measures or plan adaptations. As part of the Cultural Heritage Agency's research programme on construction and archaeology, we prepared predictive maps of the compression sensitivity of the subsurface sediments in the Netherlands for 1 m depth intervals from 0 to 20 m depth. The maps were constructed using a full 3-D model of the subsurface of the Netherlands. In combination with the Indicative Map of Archaeological Values (IKAW) that is already available, these maps can be used to better estimate the technical measures needed and costs involved for in situ protection of archaeological sites in the planning phase of construction projects. © W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2012.

Shallow gas in the Dutch offshore predominantly occurs in shallow marine to continental deposits of the Plio-Pleistocene Eridanos delta (Fig. 1). This delta was fed by an ancient fluvio-deltaic system that prograded through Northwestern Europe due to simultaneous uplift of the Fennoscandinavian Shield and accelerated subsidence of the North Sea Basin. The dimensions of its drainage area and the thickness of the deltaic deposits make it one of the largest deltas and complex in the world. The origin of the shallow gas may be deep subsurface thermogenic sources or biogenic sources in shallower strata. It is either structurally trapped in anticlines associated with rising salt domes or occurs in stratigraphic or depositional traps.

This work presents a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) formulation for the design of energy-efficient multistage adsorption dryers within constraints on product temperature and moisture content. Apart from optimizing temperatures and flows, the aim is to select the most efficient adsorbent per stage and product to air flow configuration. Superstructure models consisting of commonly used adsorbents such as zeolite, alumina, and silica-gel are developed and optimized for a two-stage, low-temperature, adsorption drying system. Results show that the optimal configuration is a hybrid system with zeolite as the first-stage adsorbent and silica-gel as the second-stage adsorbent in counter-current flow between drying air and product. A specific energy consumption of 2,275 kJ/kg is achieved, which reduces to 1,730 kJ/kg with heat recovery by a heat exchanger. Compared to a conventional two-stage dryer at the same drying temperature, this represents a 59% reduction in energy consumption. The optimal system ensures the exhaust air temperature of the first-stage regenerator is high enough to regenerate the second-stage adsorbent so no utility energy is spent in the second stage. A higher second-stage adsorbent wheel speed favors energy performance as it becomes optimized for energy recovery while the first is optimized for dehumidification. Although this work considers three candidate adsorbents in a two-stage system, the same reasoning can be applied to systems with more stages and adsorbents. The developed superstructure optimization methodology can, by extension, be applied to optimize multistage hybrid drying systems in general for any objective. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Water influx into gas fields can reduce recovery factors by 10-40%. Therefore, information about the magnitude and spatial distribution of water influx is essential for efficient management of waterdrive gas reservoirs. Modern geophysical techniques such as gravimetry may provide a direct measure of mass redistribution below the surface, yielding additional and valuable information for reservoir monitoring. In this paper, we investigate the added value of gravimetric observations for water-influx monitoring into a gas field. For this purpose, we use data assimilation with the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) method. To understand better the limitations of the gravimetric technique, a sensitivity study is performed. For a simplified gas-reservoir model, we assimilate the synthetic gravity measurements and estimate reservoir permeability. The updated reservoir model is used to predict the water-front position. We consider a number of possible scenarios, making various assumptions on the level of gravity measurement noise and on the distance from the gravity observation network to the reservoir formation. The results show that with increasing gravimetric noise and/or distance, the updated model permeability becomes smoother and its variance higher. Finally, we investigate the effect of a combined assimilation of gravity and production data. In the case when only production observations are used, the permeability estimates far from the wells can be erroneous, despite a very accurate history match of the data. In the case when both production and gravity data are combined within a single data assimilation framework, we obtain a considerably improved estimation of the reservoir permeability and an improved understanding of the subsurface mass flow. These results illustrate the complementarity of both types of measurements, and more generally, the experiments show clearly the added value of gravity data for monitoring water influx into a gas field. Copyright © 2012 Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Sinds enkele jaren zijn er in Nederland plannen om te gaan boren naar schaliegas. Schaliegas is aardgas dat opgesloten zit in kleisteenlagen in de ondergrond, ook wel ‘schalies’ genoemd. Nederland bevat mogelijk veel

At least during the first 6 months after birth, the nutrition of infants should ideally consist of human milk which provides 40-60 % of energy from lipids. Beyond energy, human milk also delivers lipids with a specific functionality, such as essential fatty acids (FA), phospholipids, and cholesterol. Healthy development, especially of the nervous and digestive systems, depends fundamentally on these. Epidemiological data suggest that human milk provides unique health benefits during early infancy that extend to long-lasting benefits. Preclinical findings show that qualitative changes in dietary lipids, i.e., lipid structure and FA composition, during early life may contribute to the reported long-term effects. Little is known in this respect about the development of digestive function and the digestion and absorption of lipids by the newborn. This review gives a detailed overview of the distinct functionalities that dietary lipids from human milk and infant formula provide and the profound differences in the physiology and biochemistry of lipid digestion between infants and adults. Fundamental mechanisms of infant lipid digestion can, however, almost exclusively be elucidated in vitro. Experimental approaches and their challenges are reviewed in depth. © 2012 The Author(s).

Results of noise measurements in the streets of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Paris are presented. Noise levels and GPS coordinates have been recorded during several trips by bicycle and by foot. For comparison, noise levels have also been calculated from average traffic intensities. Both the measurement and the calculations show a large contrast between high noise levels along major roads and lower noise levels in the areas between the major roads. In other words, the spatial distribution of noise in the cities shows large areas of relatively low noise level, separated by narrow bands of high noise level along the major roads. The results are interpreted in the light of sustainable urban planning. To create healthy living environments, cities make plans for the next decades that put restrictions on the growth of motorized road traffic. It is argued that cities should not only restrict motorized traffic on major roads but should also prevent a gradual increase of traffic on minor roads in quiet urban areas. The protection of quiet urban areas is supported by the European Environmental Noise Directive, but this should focus not only on parks and courtyards, but also on quiet built-up urban areas.

This article presents a series of ring-extended gramicidin S derivatives, 9-14, that have four ornithine residues as polar protonated side chains and one modified turn region containing a mono-functionalized cis-δ-oxetane, δ-furanoid, or δ-pyranoid sugar amino acid residue. Of the GS analogs evaluated, we identified compound 7, which contains the mono-benzyloxy cis-δ-pyranoid sugar amino acid, as having a better biological profile than the clinically applied topical antibiotic gramicidin S. Copyright © 2012 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich, Switzerland.

Noise mapping of urban areas according to standardized engineering calculation methods systematically results in an underestimation of noise levels at areas shielded from direct exposure to noise, such as inner yards. In these methods, road traffic lanes are represented by point sources and noise levels are computed utilizing point-to-point propagation paths. For a better prediction of noise levels in shielded urban areas, the attenuation terms describing these propagation paths are extended by terms including geometrical aspects of the urban environment both in the source and in the receiver area. In the present work, it has been studied to what extent these terms may be treated as being independent of the source-receiver distance. Also, the validity of treating the propagation path in a 2D plane rather than in 3D is investigated. Results obtained from a wave-based acoustic propagation model have been used for this assessment.

Quantitative Property Property Relationships (QPPRs) for human and rat blood:air partition coefficients (PBAs) have been derived, based on vapour pressure (Log(VP)), the octanol:water partition coefficient (Log(K_OW)) and molecular weight (MW), using partial least squares multilinear modelling. These parameters are all included in the standard data to be submitted under REACH. The chemical dataset consisted of volatile organic chemicals, principally aliphatic hydrocarbons, benzene derivatives with one aromatic ring, and ethers, with and without halogen atoms. Other chemicals represented were cyclic hydrocarbons and carbonic acid esters. Separate rat and human models were derived, as well as mixed ones. Log(VP) and Log(K_OW) contributed most to the prediction of Log(PBA) in the three-parameter model, while the contribution of MW was relatively small. Still, the three-parameter model differed significantly from the two-parameter model and performed better. Its performance was comparable to that of models published in public literature, which are based on more complex molecular parameters or on measured olive:oil air and saline/water:air partition coefficients. Since, based on the available data for humans, rats, mice, dogs and rabbits, existence of interspecies differences of PBAs cannot be clearly excluded, the use of separate models for each species is advisable. Concluding, the three-parameter human model Log(PBA) = 6.96 – 1.04 Log(VP) – 0.533 Log(K_OW) – 0.00495 MW and the three-parameter rat model 6.16 – 0.888 Log(VP) – 0.521 Log(K_OW) – 0.00201 MW provide robust and reliable models for predicting PBA values of volatile organic chemicals using commonly available chemical properties of molecules. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The respective examples, described in this paper, illustrate how the BRAFO-tiered approach, on benefit-risk assessment, can be tested on a wide range of case studies. Various results were provided, ranging from a quick stop as the result of non-genuine benefit-risk questions to continuation through the tiers into deterministic/probabilistic calculations. The paper illustrates the assessment of benefits and risks associated with dietary interventions. The BRAFO tiered approach is tested with five case studies. In each instance, the benefit-risk approach is tested on the basis of existing evaluations for the individual effects done by others; no new risk or benefit evaluations were made. The following case studies were thoroughly analysed: an example of food fortification, folic acid fortification of flour, macronutrient replacement/food substitution; the isocaloric replacement of saturated fatty acids with carbohydrates; the replacement of saturated fatty acids with monounsaturated fatty acids; the replacement of sugar-sweetened beverages containing mono- and disaccharides with low calorie sweeteners and an example of addition of specific ingredients to food: chlorination of drinking water. © 2011 ILSI Europe.

Setting appropriate bin sizes to aggregate hyphenated high-resolution mass spectrometry data, belonging to similar mass over charge (m/. z) channels, is vital to metabolite quantification and further identification. In a high-resolution mass spectrometer when mass accuracy (ppm) varies as a function of molecular mass, which usually is the case while reading m/. z from low to high values, it becomes a challenge to determine suitable bin sizes satisfying all m/. z ranges. Similarly, the chromatographic process within a hyphenated system, like any other controlled processes, introduces some process driven systematic behavior that ultimately distorts the mass chromatogram signal. This is especially seen in liquid chromatogram-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) measurements where the gradient of the solvent and the washing step cycle-part of the chromatographic process, produce a mass chromatogram with a non-uniform baseline along the retention time axis. Hence prior to any automatic signal decomposition techniques like deconvolution, it is a equally vital to perform the baseline correction step for absolute metabolite quantification. This paper will discuss an instrument and process independent solution to the binning and the baseline correction problem discussed above, seen together, as an effective pre-processing step toward liquid chromatography-high resolution-mass spectrometry (LC-HR-MS) data deconvolution. © 2012 Elsevier B.V..

A nine and 13-year-old boy, previously diagnosed with 18q syndrome and an 11q deletion, respectively were diagnosed with testicular microlithiasis (TM). Both cases demonstrate that TM occurs in patients with various chromosomal abnormalities.

Background: Air pollution exposure during pregnancy might have trimester-specific effects on fetal growth. Objective: We prospectively evaluated the associations of maternal air pollution exposure with fetal growth characteristics and adverse birth outcomes in 7,772 subjects in the Netherlands. Methods: Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter < 10 μm (PM 10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) levels were estimated using dispersion modeling at the home address. Fetal head circumference, length, and weight were estimated in each trimester by ultrasound. Information on birth outcomes was obtained from medical records. Results: In cross-sectional analyses, NO 2 levels were inversely associated with fetal femur length in the second and third trimester, and PM 10 and NO 2 levels both were associated with smaller fetal head circumference in the third trimester [-0.18 mm, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.24, -0.12 mm; and -0.12 mm, 95% CI: -0.17, -0.06 mm per 1-μg/m 3 increase in PM 10 and NO 2, respectively]. Average PM 10 and NO 2 levels during pregnancy were not associated with head circumference and length at birth or neonatally, but were inversely associated with birth weight (-3.6 g, 95% CI: -6.7, -0.4 g; and -3.4 g, 95% CI: -6.2, -0.6 g, respectively). Longitudinal analyses showed similar patterns for head circumference and weight, but no associations with length. The third and fourth quartiles of PM 10 exposure were associated with preterm birth [odds ratio (OR) = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.89; and OR = 1.32; 95% CI: 0.96, 1.79, relative to the first quartile]. The third quartile of PM10 exposure, but not the fourth, was associated with small size for gestational age at birth (SGA) (OR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.90). No consistent associations were observed for NO 2 levels and adverse birth outcomes. Conclusions: Results suggest that maternal air pollution exposure is inversely associated with fetal growth during the second and third trimester and with weight at birth. PM10 exposure was positively associated with preterm birth and SGA.

A bioanalytical method for the quantitative determination of budesonide and fluticasone in human sputum was developed. Sputolysin ® Reagent was added to the sputum samples. After incubation (37°C; 60-70min under shaking) and automated solid phase extraction the extracts were analysed using LC-MS/MS. Budesonide and fluticasone showed good linearity (r>0.99) over the range 0.1-100nM in the first and second validation batch, and over the range 0.25-10,000nM in the third and fourth validation batch. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) achieved was 5nM for budesonide and fluticasone in 100μL human sputum. Intra-run and inter-run RSD for four quality control levels (5-100nM) were within 6.9% (budesonide) and 8.0% (fluticasone). The accuracy ranged from -11.4% to -1.6% (budesonide), and from -11.8% to 0.4% (fluticasone). The validated method was applied to clinical sputum samples from COPD patients. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

The major allergen parvalbumin was purified from cod muscle tissues, and polyclonal antibodies were raised towards it. The antibodies were tested for specificity and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed using these antibodies. The ELISA was applied to measure parvalbumin in cod skin, the starting material for fish gelatin made from deep sea, wild fish. The ELISA was sufficiently sensitive (LLOQ = 0.8 ng ml-1 in extracts, corresponding to 0.02 μg of parvalbumin per g of tissue), and did not cross-react with common food constituents. Fish gelatin, wine and beer, matrices for the potential use of this ELISA, did not cause disturbance of the assay performance. The data show that the parvalbumin content in cod muscle tissue is 6.25 mg g-1, while the skins contained considerably less, 0.4 mg g-1. Washing of the skins, a common industrial procedure during the manufacturing of fish gelatin, reduced the level of parvalbumin about 1000-fold to 0.5 μg g-1, or 0.5 ppm. From 95 commercial lots of fish gelatin it is shown that 73 are below 0.02 μg g-1 parvalbumin. From the other 22 lots, the one with the highest concentration contained 0.15 μg g-1 of parvalbumin. These levels are generally assumed to be safe for fish-allergic individuals. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Subsidence caused by extraction of hydrocarbons and solution salt mining is a sensitive issue in the Netherlands. An extensive legal, technical and organisational framework is in place to ensure a high probability that such subsidence will stay within predefined limits. The key question is: how much subsidence is acceptable and at which rate? And: how can it be reliably assured that (future) subsidence will stay within these limits? To address the issue for the Wadden Sea area, the concept of ‘effective subsidence capacity’ is used. To determine the ‘effective subsidence capacity’, the maximum volumetric rate of relative sea-level rise, that can be accommodated in the long term, without environmental harm, is established first. The volume of sediment that can be transported and deposited by nature into the tidal basin where the subsidence is expected, ultimately determines this ‘limit of acceptable average subsidence rate’. The capability of the tidal basins to ‘capture’ sediment over the lunar cycle period of 18.6 years is the overall rate-determining step. Effective subsidence capacity is then the maximum average subsidence rate available for planning of human activities. It is obtained by subtracting the subsidence volume rate ‘consumed’ by natural relative subsidence in the area (sealevel rise plus natural shallow compaction) from the total long-term acceptable subsidence volume rate limit. In the operational procedure for mining companies, six-years-average expectation values of subsidence rates are used to calculate the maximum allowable production rates. This is done under the provision that production will be reduced or halted if the expected or actual subsidence rate (natural + man induced) is likely to exceed the limit of acceptable subsidence. Monitoring and management schemes ensure that predicted (6-year average) and actual (18.6-year average) subsidence rates stay within the limit of acceptable subsidence rate and that no damage is caused to the protected nature. A GPS based early warning system is used for early detection of unexpected behaviour. In support of SSM (State Supervision of Mines, the government regulator), TNO-AGE (an independent government advisory group) applies an independent Bayesian statistical analysis of all data, as they become available, to calculate the probability of scenario’s under which future subsidence will exceed the defined limits. It is external to the operator’s annual measurement and control loop and ensures that preventive actions can be taken in time in case such scenarios emerge. Regular communication keeps the authorities and the general public informed on the use of the effective subsidence capacity to demonstrate that the actual average subsidence rate stays strictly within the defined bounds and that, from a scientific point of view, there is no reasonable doubt that damage to the tidal system will not occur now or in the future.

Aerosol concentration and aerosol type, retrieved from observations with CIMEL sun-photometers at three sub-arctic locations at the Scandinavian Peninsula are presented. The observations were made at ALOMAR-Andenes in Norway, Abisko in Sweden and Sodankylä in Finland. This field campaign took place in late spring and summer 2007 as part of the activities of the International Polar Year (IPY) within the POLARCAT project at ALOMAR and Abisko. Aerosol properties were characterized using the relationship between the aerosol optical depth and the Ångström Exponent. The characteristics of the predominant aerosol type and microphysics are largely determined by the location of the site (continental or coastal). During summer the fine mode particles dominate, as indicated by the fine mode volume fraction and the Ångström Exponent. The aerosol concentration was on average very low, except during an event in which long-range transported aerosols (dust and pollution) were detected. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

Determinants of levels of polychlorinated dibenzo- p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) in dust in U.S. homes are not well characterized. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the relationship between concentrations of PCDD/F in house dust and residential proximity to known sources, including industrial facilities and traffic. Samples from vacuum bag dust from homes of 40 residents of Detroit, Los Angeles, Seattle, or Iowa who participated in a population-based case-control study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma conducted in 1998-2000 were analyzed using high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry for 7 PCDD and 10 PCDF congeners considered toxic by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Locations of 10 types of PCDD/F-emitting facilities were obtained from the EPA; however only 4 types were located near study homes (non-hazardous waste cement kilns, coal-fired power plants, sewage sludge incinerators, and medical waste incinerators). Relationships between concentrations of each PCDD/F and proximity to industrial facilities, freight routes, and major roads were evaluated using separate multivariate regression models for each congener. The median (inter-quartile range [IQR]) toxic equivalence (TEQ) concentration of these congeners in the house dust was 20.3. pg/g (IQR. =. 14.3, 32.7). Homes within 3 or 5. km of a cement kiln had 2 to 9-fold higher concentrations of 5 PCDD and 5 PCDF (p.

Microbacterium aurum strain B8.A was isolated from the sludge of a potato starch-processing factory on the basis of its ability to use granular starch as carbon- and energy source. Extracellular enzymes hydrolyzing granular starch were detected in the growth medium of M. aurum B8.A, while the type strain M. aurum DSMZ 8600 produced very little amylase activity, and hence was unable to degrade granular starch. The strain B8.A extracellular enzyme fraction degraded wheat, tapioca and potato starch at 37 °C, well below the gelatinization temperature of these starches. Starch granules of potato were hydrolyzed more slowly than of wheat and tapioca, probably due to structural differences and/or surface area effects. Partial hydrolysis of starch granules by extracellular enzymes of strain B8.A resulted in large holes of irregular sizes in case of wheat and tapioca and many smaller pores of relatively homogeneous size in case of potato. The strain B8.A extracellular amylolytic system produced mainly maltotriose and maltose from both granular and soluble starch substrates; also, larger maltooligosaccharides were formed after growth of strain B8.A in rich medium. Zymogram analysis confirmed that a different set of amylolytic enzymes was present depending on the growth conditions of M. aurum B8.A. Some of these enzymes could be partly purified by binding to starch granules. © 2011 The Author(s).

Practical application of fault seal analysis for reducing risk in hydrocarbon exploration and CO2 storage, and for predicting the dynamics of reservoirs under stress, requires that both small and large scale processes within and around fault zones are understood and that structural evolution is related directly to changes in permeability through calibrations with available field and laboratory data. In 2006 the research organizations CSIRO (Australia) and TNO (Netherlands) came together with industry sponsors to form a research consortium to investigate the dynamics of permeability evolution in clay-smear type fault zones in sandstone/mudrock sequences. The plan was rather ambitious, requiring new developments in laboratory apparatus and in numerical modeling approaches to this problem. The objectives were: 1. To create in the laboratory some of the largest scale shear zones attempted so far under reservoir stress conditions, reaching 100 mm of displacement, and with sufficient freedom of kinematics to allow 3-dimensional fault structures to develop. 2. To conduct the tests at a range of effective stresses reaching up to around 30 MPa faultnormal stress, equivalent to several kilometers of burial. 3. To implement direct fluid flow and pressure monitoring during the dynamic shearing and static loading of the model fault zone during its evolution; this required the development of an entirely new self-sealing system for the fluid cell. 4. To dissect and image the fault zones produced in order to understand the structural evolution on the fine scale in three dimensions. 5. To use a combination of finite element (FE) and discrete element modeling (DEM) to recreate the experimental conditions of the laboratory experiments’ kinematics and geomechanical responses and to extrapolate from the measured parameter sets into wider and more continuous variations in rock properties and stress conditions.

The present paper summarizes the outcome of the discussions at the First International Scientific Workshop on Harmonization of Strategies to Measure and Analyze Exposure to (Manufactured) Nano-objects in Workplace Air that was organized and hosted by the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance (IFA) (Zeist, The Netherlands, December 2010). It reflects the discussions by 25 international participants in the area of occupational (nano) exposure assessment from Europe, USA, Japan, and Korea on nano-specific issues related to the three identified topics: (i) measurement strategies; (ii) analyzing, evaluating, and reporting of exposure data; and (iii) core information for (exposure) data storage. Preliminary recommendations were achieved with respect to (i) a multimetric approach to exposure assessment, a minimal set of data to be collected, and basic data analysis and reporting as well as (ii) a minimum set of contextual information to be collected and reported. Other issues that have been identified and are of great interest include (i) the need for guidance on statistical approaches to analyze time-series data and on electron microscopy analysis and its reporting and (ii) the need for and possible structure of a (joint) database to store and merge data. To make progress in the process of harmonization, it was concluded that achieving agreement among researchers on the preliminary recommendations of the workshop is urgent. © 2011 The Author.

Er is een model gebouwd om de kosten en baten van voorbereiding voor militaire acties in warme en koude gebieden in kaart te krijgen.

Recent losses of honey bee colonies have led to increased interest in the microbial communities that are associated with these important pollinators. A critical function that bacteria perform for their honey bee hosts, but one that is poorly understood, is the transformation of worker-collected pollen into bee bread, a nutritious food product that can be stored for long periods in colonies. We used 16S rRNA pyrosequencing to comprehensively characterize in genetically diverse and genetically uniform colonies the active bacterial communities that are found on honey bees, in their digestive tracts, and in bee bread. This method provided insights that have not been revealed by past studies into the content and benefits of honey bee-associated microbial communities. Colony microbiotas differed substantially between sampling environments and were dominated by several anaerobic bacterial genera never before associated with honey bees, but renowned for their use by humans to ferment food. Colonies with genetically diverse populations of workers, a result of the highly promiscuous mating behavior of queens, benefited from greater microbial diversity, reduced pathogen loads, and increased abundance of putatively helpful bacteria, particularly species from the potentially probiotic genus Bifidobacterium. Across all colonies, Bifidobacterium activity was negatively correlated with the activity of genera that include pathogenic microbes; this relationship suggests a possible target for understanding whether microbes provide protective benefits to honey bees. Within-colony diversity shapes microbiotas associated with honey bees in ways that may have important repercussions for colony function and health. Our findings illuminate the importance of honey bee-bacteria symbioses and examine their intersection with nutrition, pathogen load, and genetic diversity, factors that are considered key to understanding honey bee decline. © 2012 Mattila et al.