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Aan de hand van feiten en anekdotes zet Stichting KonijnenBelangen (SKB) uiteen waarom het konijn niet zonder voorbehoud als huisdier zou mogen worden verkocht of gehouden. De eigenschappen en behoeftes van het konijn zijn, blijkens een overvloed aan voorbeelden uit de dagelijkse praktijk, niet bij iedereen bekend, of er wordt niet naar gehandeld.

Verkenningen laten zien dat met het nu voorgenomen beleid de huidige KRW-doelen voor 2027 niet gehaald gaan worden. Bijstelling van doelen en/of maatregelen is daarom nodig. Om gezamenlijke, goed onderbouwde keuzes mogelijk te maken wordt voorgesteld om de al bestaande werkwijze uit de MEP/GEP-handreiking te optimaliseren. Dit kan door meer rekening te houden met de unieke eigenschappen van elk watersysteem, dit systeem te analyseren met gebruik van de nieuwste methodes, doelstellingen meer herkenbaar te maken en keuzeopties via overzichtelijke beleidsvarianten bespreekbaar te maken voor iedereen. De uitvoering van de Europese Kaderrichtlijn Water (KRW) in Nederland is in volle gang. De uitvoering van SGBP1 loopt op zijn einde en het opstellen van het tweede Stroomgebiedsbeheerplan (SGBP2), dat de periode 2016-2021 beslaat, is nu klaar. In dit artikel kijken we al vooruit naar de totstandkoming van SGBP3 (2021-2027).

Item does not contain fulltext, Little information is available on the use of appropriate comparison groups for studies investigating late effects of childhood cancer. Two comparison groups in a nationwide study on reproductive function and ovarian reserve in female childhood cancer survivors were recruited (The Dutch Childhood Oncology Group Long-Term Effects After Childhood Cancer Cohort Study). Experiences of this process are reported. Two types of comparison groups were used: sisters of participating survivors and controls from the general population. A total of 352 out of 580 (61%) of the participating survivors who had a sister gave permission to invite them for the study. The participation rate of sisters was much higher than control participants from the general population (74% versus 21%, respectively), whereas considerably more effort was involved in recruiting controls from the general population. Participants in this group were significantly older and more highly educated than sister controls (P < 0.001 for both groups). No significant differences were observed between both types of comparison groups in several fertility-related characteristics, suggesting minimal bias owing to selective participation. Researchers setting up a study to investigate late effects among survivors of childhood cancer should carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of using various types of comparison groups.

Onderzoek naar de waardering en begrijpelijkheid van het Uniform Pensioen Overzicht na de verbeteringen door de pensioenfederatie In deze financieel onzekere tijden is het van belang dat mensen op de hoogte zijn van hun pensioenopbouw en de risico’s die daaraan verbonden zijn. Deze informatie is te vinden in het Uniform Pensioenoverzicht, oftewel het UPO. De pensioenfederatie heeft een nieuw UPO ontwikkeld. In dit onderzoek worden de oude en nieuwe UPO-versie getoetst aan de hand van twee UPO-tests. Zo wordt gekeken in hoeverre de aanpassingen in het nieuwe UPO voor verbetering begrijpelijkheid hebben gezorgd. De resultaten vertellen ons dat het nieuwe UPO begrijpelijker is dan het oude UPO. In dit artikel wordt besproken waar dit door komt, en op welke onderdelen het UPO nog verder verbeterd kan worden.

Contains fulltext : 125412.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access), Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are considered to cause testicular toxicity primarily via interference with steroid hormone function. Alternatively, EDCs could possibly exert their effects by interaction with ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters that are expressed in the blood-testis barrier. In this study, we investigated the effects of bisphenol A (BPA), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) on breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), multidrug resistance proteins 1 and 4 (MRP1 and MRP4), and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) using membrane vesicles overexpressing these transporters. BPA solely inhibited BCRP activity, whereas TBBPA, PFOA, and PFOS inhibited all transporters tested. No effect was observed for the phthalates. Using transporter-overexpressing Madin-Darby canine kidney cells, we show that BPA and PFOA, but not TBBPA, are transported by BCRP, whereas none of the compounds were transported by P-gp. To investigate the toxicological implications of these findings, testosterone secretion and expression of steroidogenic genes were determined in murine Leydig (MA-10) cells upon exposure to the selected EDCs. Only BPA and TBBPA concentration dependently increased testosterone secretion by MA-10 cells to 6- and 46-fold of control levels, respectively. Inhibition of the Mrp's by MK-571 completely blocked testosterone secretion elicited by TBBPA, which could not be explained by coinciding changes in expression of steroidogenic genes. Therefore, we hypothesize that transporter-mediated efflux of testosterone precursors out of MA-10 cells is inhibited by TBBPA resulting in higher availability for testosterone production. Our data show the toxicological and clinical relevance of ABC transporters in EDC risk assessment related to testicular toxicity.

We present an overview of the ongoing Hubble Space Telescope large program GO-12911. The program is focused on the core of M4, the nearest Galactic globular cluster, and the observations are designed to constrain the number of binaries with massive companions (black holes, neutron stars, or white dwarfs) by measuring the ``wobble'' of the luminous (main-sequence) companion around the center of mass of the pair, with an astrometric precision of ~50 micro-arcseconds. The high spatial resolution and stable medium-band PSFs of WFC3/UVIS will make these measurements possible. In this work we describe: (i) the motivation behind this study, (ii) our observing strategy, (iii) the many other investigations enabled by this unique data set, and which of those our team is conducting, and (iv) a preliminary reduction of the first-epoch data-set collected on October 10, 2012., Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures (9 at low resolution), 3 tables. Published in: Astronomische Nachrichten, Volume 334, Issue 10, pages 1062-1085, December 2013. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asna.201311911/abstract

Na bijna tien jaar is de harmonisatie voor de beoordeling van biologische waterkwaliteit voor natuurlijke wateren in Europa bijna afgerond. De Europese Commissie komt binnenkort met de publicatie van de eindresultaten in een Commissiebesluit. Voor de Nederlandse maatlatten heeft dit beperkte gevolgen.

1 juli 2012, Item does not contain fulltext, INTRODUCTION: In patients with disorders of sex development requiring creation of a neovagina, a number of techniques are available, including surgical vaginoplasty and self-dilation therapy. Vaginal dilation therapy has been recommended as a first-line treatment because of its less invasive character and high success rate. However, no data exist on long-term psychosexual functioning after vaginal dilation as compared with that after vaginal surgery. AIMS: The aim of this study is to compare the psychosexual and anatomical outcome of women with congenital vaginal hypoplasia followed in the same clinical setting after vaginoplasty with that after vaginal dilation. METHODS: The sexual quality of life of 35 women at least 2 years after vaginoplasty (N = 15), vaginal dilation therapy (N = 8), or coital dilation/no treatment (N = 12) was investigated and compared with the Dutch test validation population (as control). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychosexual functioning was assessed with the female sexual Function index, the female sexual distress scale-revised, and a semi-structured interview. A gynecological examination was performed to determine the anatomical outcome after both vaginal treatment regimens. RESULTS: After either treatment, 26% of these women had a shortened vaginal length of less than 6.6 cm, i.e., more than two standard deviations below the published mean value (9.6 +/- 1.5 cm). Irrespective of the treatment, 47% of the patients had (a) sexual dysfunction(s) and experienced sexual distress. However, after vaginoplasty, patients reported significantly more problems with lubrication (P = 0.025) than after self-dilation therapy. CONCLUSION: Both psychological and physical factors are predisposing for sexual difficulties. To optimize psychosexual comfort, the clinical management of women with vaginal hypoplasia needs to be multidisciplinary and individually tailored. With high success rates reported, vaginal dilation should remain the cornerstone of treatment.

In present-day Europe, there is an increasing trend in the percentage of employees with a flexible, limited contract. Previous research has documented the negative consequences of job insecurity and flexible work. Some authors point at the potential buffering role social support can play in reducing the risks of flexible labour. Though, the decline in civil engagement has changed the role social networks play in peoples’ lives. Moreover, trade unions can provide specific institutional forms of support. However, in the last decades there is a persistent decline in trade union membership in most western countries. The aim of this thesis is to investigate whether social support can mitigate these effects. In particular, for the purposes of this study social support was divided in strong ties and trade union membership - representing weak ties. At first, a sample was constructed in which the established negative consequences of flexible work on health were examined. Thereafter, a subsample was composed that contained only the employees with a flexible contract. Within this sample, it was investigated whether trade union membership and strong ties have a significant effect on well-being. Linear regression analyses were carried out to yield the present results. In accordance with hypotheses 1, 2 and 3 i) there is a negative relationship between flexible work and general health, ii) amongst flexible workers, being a trade union member has a positive effect on a persons’ health and iii) amongst flexible employees, there is a positive effect of being involved in a legal relationship. Hypothesis 4 is rejected, that is to say the effect of social capital is equal to the effect of trade union membership in mitigating the consequences of flexible work. This implies that flexible employees are, on average, less healthy. It also indicates that today, trade union membership is still important in risk reducing. Two limitations of this study are worth noting: i) strong ties are only

Using deep Chandra observations of the globular cluster M28, we study the quiescent X-ray emission of a neutron star in a low-mass X-ray binary in order to constrain the chemical composition of the neutron star atmosphere and the equation of state of dense matter. We fit the spectrum with different neutron star atmosphere models composed of hydrogen, helium or carbon. The parameter values obtained with the carbon model are unphysical and such a model can be ruled out. Hydrogen and helium models give realistic parameter values for a neutron star, and the derived mass and radius are clearly distinct depending on the composition of the atmosphere. The hydrogen model gives masses/radii consistent with the canonical values of 1.4 Msun and 10 km, and would allow for the presence of exotic matter inside neutron stars. On the other hand, the helium model provides solutions with higher masses/radii, consistent with the stiffest equations of state. Measurements of neutron star masses/radii by spectral fitting should consider the possibility of heavier element atmospheres, which produce larger masses/radii for the same data, unless the composition of the accretor is known independently., Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS, 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

The increasing concern about the effect of chlorine used to disinfect swimming pools allows research to focus on the effect of chlorine and its derivates on the development on cancer among bathers/swimmers but also workers. A reaction between chlorine and compounds already present in the swimming pool water and those chemicals brought in by the bathers/swimmers e.g. sweat, urine, dirt, saliva, cells and all kind of lotions produce products called “disinfection by-products” (DBPs). These DBP are mainly composed of trihalomethanes including mainly chloroform, chloramines, haloacetic acids and nitrosamines. These products can be carcinogenic at certain concentrations. The risks assessments for swimmers/bathers and workers are assessed with the NOAEL (No Observed Adverse Effect Level) given by authorities. These data were compared with earlier studies and French government analyses of swimming pool water. These risks assessments show that the concentrations of chloroform and chloramines are mainly lower than the NOAEL. Compared to a concentration considered as a discomfort concentration by the French government, results showed chloramines concentrations above that threshold. Swimmers/bathers and also workers can experience some discomfort like irritations in the eyes, and coughing making the time spend in the swimming pool less pleasant. Furthermore, the risk of developing cancer by going to the swimming pool is significant for the inhalation of chloroform. A comparison between two countries was made, France and Australia. The guidelines were compared. For most of the criteria, the guidelines allow almost the same concentrations. There are also some differences; e.g. it is not allowed to use any stabilizer in indoor swimming pools in Australia, which is allowed in France. The concentration of chlorine should be minimal 3 g/L in Australia when there is stabilizer present while in France this concentration must be minimal 2 mg/L. The concentration of DBPs maybe higher in

Argumentatie staat centraal in dit experimentele onderzoek. De aandacht gaat uit naar de beleefdheidsstrategieën van Brown & Levinson (1987), in het bijzonder naar de 13e positieve beleefdheidsstrategie ‘geef of vraag om redenen’. Er is nog weinig bekend over de invloed van beleefdheidsstrategieën op geschreven slechtnieuwscommunicatie. Uit het onderzoek van Jansen & Janssen (b. 2010) blijkt dat ‘geef redenen’ invloed heeft op de ontvangst van slecht nieuws. De beleefdheidsstrategie ‘geef redenen’ wordt in dit onderzoek toegepast op een verzekeringsclaimafwijzingsbrief. In het bijzonder gaat de aandacht uit naar de invloed van sterke versus zwakke argumenten en expliciet versus impliciet geformuleerde argumenten. De hoofdvraag in dit experimentele tussenproefpersoononderzoek is: Hebben argumentkwaliteit en formulering (expliciet versus impliciet) van het argument invloed op de evaluatie van de boodschap bij claimafwijzingsbrieven? Voor dit onderzoek zijn zes hypothesen opgesteld. De eerste twee hypothesen geven aan dat een sterk argument een hogere beoordeling krijgt dan een zwak, en dat een expliciete formulering hoger beoordeeld wordt dan een impliciet geformuleerd argument. De derde, vierde en vijfde hypothese betreffen een combinatie van de twee onafhankelijke variabelen. De verwachting is dat een sterk en expliciet geformuleerd argument hoger gewaardeerd en geaccepteerd wordt dan de andere drie versies. Hetzelfde geldt voor een sterk en impliciet geformuleerd argument: de verwachting is dat ook dit een hogere waardering en acceptatie krijgt dan de overgebleven twee versies. De verwachting van de vijfde hypothese is dat een zwak en expliciet geformuleerd argument beter beoordeeld wordt dan de versie met het zwakke en impliciet geformuleerde argument. Ten slotte is de laatste hypothese: Als een zwak argument expliciet wordt gemaakt, wordt het nog duidelijker dat het een zwak argument is. Uit de resultaten van mijn onderzoek blijkt dat lezers brieven met een sterk

Presentatie op de 7e Kennisdag Inspectie Waterkeringen 2010 met als titel: 'Het beheer van de kust door Rijkswaterstaat', over de zeespiegelstijging, het kustbeleid en -beheer en wat Rijkswaterstaat hieraan doet in het project Kustlijnzorg. Het uitgangspunt bij de kustverdediging is het handhaven van de basiskustlijn, het basiskustfundament en het meegroeien met de zeespiegelrijzing.

Contains fulltext : 96065.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access), PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term outcome and morbidity after intensified treatment for locally advanced head-and-neck cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between May 2003 and December 2007, 77 patients with Stage III to IV head-and-neck cancer were treated with curative intent. Treatment consisted of accelerated radiotherapy to a dose of 68 Gy and concurrent cisplatin. Long-term survivors were invited to a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic for a comprehensive assessment of late morbidity with special emphasis on dysphagia, including radiological evaluation of swallowing function in all patients. RESULTS: Compliance with the treatment protocol was high, with 87% of the patients receiving at least five cycles of cisplatin and all but 1 patient completing the radiotherapy as planned. The 5-year actuarial disease-free survival and overall survival rates were 40% and 47%, respectively. Locoregional recurrence-free survival at 5 years was 61%. The 5-year actuarial rates of overall late Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG)/European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Grade 3 and Grade 4 toxicity were 52% and 25% respectively. Radiologic evaluation after a median follow-up of 44 months demonstrated impaired swallowing in 57% of the patients, including 23% with silent aspiration. Subjective assessment using a systematic scoring system indicated normalcy of diet in only 15.6% of the patients. CONCLUSION: This regimen of accelerated radiotherapy with weekly cisplatin produced favorable tumor control rates and survival rates while compliance was high. However, comprehensive assessment by a multidisciplinary team of medical and paramedical specialists revealed significant long-term morbidity in the majority of the patients, with dysphagia being a major concern.

We present a multi-object optical spectroscopy follow-up study of X-ray sources in a field along the Galactic Plane (l=327.42 deg, b=2.26 deg) which is part of the Chandra Multi-wavelength Plane survey (ChaMPlane). We obtained spectra for 46 stars, including 15 likely counterparts to X-ray sources, and sources showing an H-alpha color excess. This has led to the identification of a new cataclysmic variable (CV), CXOPS J154305.5-522709, also named ChaMPlane Bright Source 7 (CBS~7), and we identified 8 X-ray sources in the field as active late-type stars. CBS~7 was previously studied in X-rays and showed a hard spectrum and two periods: 1.22+/-0.08 h and 2.43+/-0.26 h. We present here clear evidence that the source is a CV through the detection of H, HeI and HeII emission lines in its optical spectrum. The hard X-ray spectrum and the presence of the HeII 4686 in emission with a large equivalent width suggest a magnetic CV. The near-infrared counterpart is significantly variable, and we found a period consistent with the longest X-ray period at 2.39+/-0.05 h but not the shortest X-ray period. If this period is the orbital period, this would place the system in the CV period gap. The possible orbital period suggests a dM4+/-1 companion star. The distance is then estimated to be ~1 kpc. The system could be a relatively hard and X-ray luminous polar or an intermediate polar, possibly nearly-synchronous., Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ; 6 figures, 5 tables, 8 pages with emulateapj style

Dwarf novae in globular clusters seem to be rare with only 13 detections in the 157 known Galactic globular clusters. We report the identification of a new dwarf nova in M13, the 14th dwarf nova identified in a globular cluster to date. Using the 2m Faulkes Telescope North, we conducted a search for stars in M13 that show variability over a year (2005-2006) on timescales of days and months. This led to the detection of one dwarf nova showing several outbursts. A Chandra X-ray source is coincident with this dwarf nova and shows both a spectrum and variability consistent with that expected from a dwarf nova, thus supporting the identification. We searched for a counterpart in Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC archived images and found at least 11 candidates, of which we could characterize only the 7 brightest, including one with a 3 sigma H-alpha excess and a faint blue star. The detection of one dwarf nova when more could have been expected likely indicates that our knowledge of the global Galactic population of cataclysmic variables is too limited. The proportion of dwarf novae may be lower than found in catalogs, or they may have a much smaller duty cycle in general as proposed by some population synthesis models and recent observations in the field., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 12 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables (v2 contains corrections of the proofs)

Ze zijn fanatiek, supergemotiveerd en weten precies wat hun doel is : de seniorstudenten. Wie zijn deze oudere jongeren en wat hopen ze op hun leeftijd nog tussen de collegebanken te vinden?

We studied the stellar population in the central 6.6x6.6arcmin,region of the ultra-deep (1Msec) Chandra Galactic field - the "Chandra bulge field" (CBF) approximately 1.5 degrees away from the Galactic Center - using the Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC blue (F435W) and red (F625W) images. We mainly focus on the behavior of red clump giants - a distinct stellar population, which is known to have an essentially constant intrinsic luminosity and color. By studying the variation in the position of the red clump giants on a spatially resolved color-magnitude diagram, we confirm the anomalous total-to-selective extinction ratio, as reported in previous work for other Galactic bulge fields. We show that the interstellar extinction in this area is = 4 on average, but varies significantly between ~3-5 on angular scales as small as 1 arcminute. Using the distribution of red clump giants in an extinction-corrected color-magnitude diagram, we constrain the shape of a stellar-mass distribution model in the direction of this ultra-deep Chandra field, which will be used in a future analysis of the population of X-ray sources. We also show that the adopted model for the stellar density distribution predicts an infrared surface brightness in the direction of the "Chandra bulge field" in good agreement (i.e. within ~15%) with the actual measurements derived from the Spitzer/IRAC observations., Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

De gewasopbrengsten zijn 0-40% lager in de biologische akker- en tuinbouw dan in de gangbare akker- en tuinbouw. De melkproductie per ha is ca. 25% lager in de biologische melkveehouderij dan in de gangbare melkveehouderij. Het voerverbruik per kg karkasgewicht is ca. 20% hoger in de biologische varkens- en pluimveehouderij dan in de gangbare melkveehouderij, varkens- en pluimveehouderij. De verschillen worden door diverse factoren veroorzaakt en kunnen door gerichte veredeling en verbeterd management mogelijk worden verkleind.

Het bedrijfsvergelijkend onderzoek wordt jaarlijks sectorbreed gehouden onder alle bedrijven die in Nederland binnen de groensector actief zijn. Het onderzoek beoogt managementinformatie te leveren voor de groenbedrijven, en een betrouwbaar en consistent beeld te geven van de sector als geheel. De rapportage over het onderzoek bestaat uit twee onderdelen: dit rapport, Stilte voor de storm? – bedrijfsvergelijkend onderzoek VHG 2008, met een overzicht van de voornaamste onderzoeksresultaten op sectoraal niveau

Sinds maart 2008 bestaat het Platform Water Vallei en Eem. Het is een initiatief van de provincies Utrecht en Gelderland, Waterschap Vallei & Eem en de gemeenten binnen dat beheersgebied. Vanuit de behoefte om meer samenhang en structuur te krijgen in de wateragenda, zijn op bestuurlijk en ambtelijk niveau de handen ineenslagen. Het doel is een betere afstemming tussen de partijen in beleid en uitvoering en in de uitwisseling van kennis en ervaring. Dit moet leiden tot een hogere kwaliteit qua beleid en uitvoering en meer efficiency. Het gaat hierbij om zaken als riolering, de waterketen, de uitvoering van het Nationaal Bestuursakkoord Water, ruimtelijke ordening, natuur, grondwater, wetgeving en de gevolgen hiervan op overheidsniveaus, strategische en regionale plannen, baggeren en visstandbeheer.

Deltas in Depth Theme 4: Climate change and climate proofing urban areas, Session DD 4.4: Urban adaptation in Rotterdam and other Dutch cities. Civil protection and climate change vulnerability a Rotterdam case, Maya van den Berg, University of Twente, the Netherlands (2010). Presented at the international conference Deltas in Times of Climate Change, 29 September - 1 October, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

We study the weighted heat trace asymptotics of an operator of Laplace type with Dirichlet boundary conditions where the weight function exhibits radial blowup. We give formulas for the first few terms in the expansion in terms of geometrical data.

We present a statistical analysis of simultaneous optical and X-ray light curves, spanning 600 ks, for 814 pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster. The aim of this study is to establish the relationship, if any, between the sites of optical and X-ray variability, and thereby to elucidate the origins of X-ray production in PMS stars. In a previous paper we showed that optical and X-ray variability in PMS stars are very rarely time-correlated. Here, using time-averaged variability indicators to examine the joint occurrences of optical and X-ray variability, we confirm that the two forms of variability are not directly causally related. However, a strong and highly statistically significant correlation is found between optical variability and X-ray luminosity. As this correlation is found to be independent of accretion activity, we argue that X-ray production in PMS stars must instead be intimately connected with the presence and strength of optically variable, magnetically active surface regions (i.e. spots) on these stars. Moreover, because X-ray variability and optical variability are rarely time-correlated, we conclude that the sites of X-ray production are not exclusively co-spatial with these regions. We argue that solar-analog coronae, heated by topologically complex fields, can explain these findings., Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal. 33 pages, 3 figures

Contains fulltext : 51722.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access), The filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger is widely exploited by the fermentation industry for the production of enzymes and organic acids, particularly citric acid. We sequenced the 33.9-megabase genome of A. niger CBS 513.88, the ancestor of currently used enzyme production strains. A high level of synteny was observed with other aspergilli sequenced. Strong function predictions were made for 6,506 of the 14,165 open reading frames identified. A detailed description of the components of the protein secretion pathway was made and striking differences in the hydrolytic enzyme spectra of aspergilli were observed. A reconstructed metabolic network comprising 1,069 unique reactions illustrates the versatile metabolism of A. niger. Noteworthy is the large number of major facilitator superfamily transporters and fungal zinc binuclear cluster transcription factors, and the presence of putative gene clusters for fumonisin and ochratoxin A synthesis.

De Kaderrichtlijn Water schrijft voor dat normen voor de biologische toestand voor oppervlaktewateren vergelijkbaar zijn in de Europese lidstaten. De 'goede toestand' voor bijvoorbeeld waterplanten in Frankrijk moet vergelijkbaar zijn met de 'goede toestand' in een vergelijkbaar water in Nederland of Duitsland. De vergelijking is uitgevoerd voor onder andere algen (fytoplankton), waterplanten (macrofyten en fytobenthos) en macrofauna in rivieren, meren, kust- of overgangswateren. De resultaten van deze Europese intercalibratie zijn nu voor het stroomgebiedbeheersplan 2009 bekend. In een aantal gevallen moet de Nederlandse doelstelling voor natuurlijke wateren iets strenger worden, soms mag het iets minder streng en vaak is de goede ecologische toestand vergelijkbaar met andere landen en is dus geen aanpassing nodig. Al met al kan Nederland tevreden zijn met de uitkomsten

De KRW-maatlatten voor macrofauna in natuurlijke watertypen zijn internationaal vergeleken in het verplichte intercalibratieproces. Hierbij lag de nadruk op de klassengrenzen zeer goed-goed en goed-matig. Bij deze vergelijking is gebruik gemaakt van een gemeenschappelijke maatlat, de Intercalibration Common Metric-index (ICMi). Ondanks de matige prestatie op de index bleek dat de klassengrenzen van de Nederlandse maatlat binnen de berekende en afgesproken bandbreedte van de andere landen vallen. De klassengrenzen van de Nederlandse maatlatten hoeven dus niet aangepast te worden en zijn hiermee internationaal gevalideerd