Integrated approaches for managing natural resources are said to meet increasing demand for water, energy, and food, while maintaining the integrity of ecosystems, and ensuring equitable access to resources. The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus has been proposed as a cross-sectoral approach to manage trade-offs and exploit synergies that arise among these sectors. Although not initially included as a component of the Nexus, the role of nature in sustaining the water, energy, and food sectors and in regulating their interrelationships is increasingly recognised by Nexus researchers and practitioners.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between sublingual microcirculatory parameters and the severity of the disease in critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the initial period of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission in a phase of the COVID-19 pandemic where patients were being treated with anti-inflammatory medication. In total, 35 critically ill COVID-19 patients were included. Twenty-one critically ill COVID-19 patients with a Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score below or equal to 7 were compared to 14 critically ill COVID-19 patients with a SOFA score exceeding 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFerroptosis is an iron- and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent form of regulated cell death, that has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Inhibition of cystine/glutamate antiporter could lead to mitochondrial fragmentation, mitochondrial calcium ([Ca]) overload, increased mitochondrial ROS production, disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ), and ferroptotic cell death. The observation that mitochondrial dysfunction is a characteristic of ferroptosis makes preservation of mitochondrial function a potential therapeutic option for diseases associated with ferroptotic cell death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDysfunction of the immune system and mitochondrial metabolism has been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) pathology. Mutations and increased kinase activity of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are linked to both idiopathic and familial PD. However, the function of LRRK2 in the immune cells under inflammatory conditions is contradictory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCarlin-type gold deposits are among the largest hydrothermal gold deposits in the world. However, direct dating the metallogenic age of these deposits is difficult, because not all deposits provide material suitable for conventional radiometric methods. Syn-mineralization stage quartz veins from these deposits usually contain abundant fluid inclusions, which allow fluid inclusion Ar/Ar dating.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study investigated the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection and diagnostics in 242 household members of different ages and with different symptom severity after SARS-CoV-2 exposure early in the pandemic (March-April 2020). Households with a SARS-CoV-2 confirmed positive case and at least one child in the Netherlands were followed for 6 weeks. Naso (NP)- and oropharyngeal (OP) swabs, oral fluid and feces specimens were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and serum for SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe compared the performance of SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibody testing between 12 European laboratories involved in convalescent plasma trials. Raw titres differed almost 100-fold differences between laboratories when blind-testing 15 plasma samples. Calibration of titres in relation to the reference reagent and standard curve obtained by testing a dilution series reduced the inter-laboratory variability ca 10-fold.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo understand SARS-CoV-2 immunity after natural infection or vaccination, functional assays such as virus neutralising assays are needed. So far, assays to detect SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies rely on cell-culture based infection assays either using wild type SARS-CoV-2 or pseudotyped viruses. Such assays are labour-intensive, require appropriate biosafety facilities and are difficult to standardize.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe water-energy-land nexus requires long-sighted approaches that help avoid maladaptive pathways to ensure its promise to deliver insights and tools that improve policy-making. Climate services can form the foundation to avoid myopia in nexus studies by providing information about how climate change will alter the balance of nexus resources and the nature of their interactions. Nexus studies can help climate services by providing information about the implications of climate-informed decisions for other economic sectors across nexus resources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Secondary caries lesions next to direct restorations are associated with the restoration material and the integrity of the tooth-restoration-interface (presence of interfacial gaps) as well as the application of masticatory forces. It remains unclear if this is true for indirect restorations. We aimed to evaluate secondary lesions next to conventionally-cemented partial gold (PG) and adhesively-cemented partial ceramic (PC) restorations, placed with or without interfacial gaps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Secondary caries limits the longevity of restorations and is thought to be associated with faulty restorations, e.g. dentin-restoration interfacial gaps.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: We systematically assessed randomized controlled trials comparing direct pulp capping materials.
Methods: Trials comparing materials for direct capping and evaluating clinically and/or radiographically determined success after minimum 3 months were included. Two reviewers independently screened electronic databases (Medline, Central, Embase) and performed hand searches.
J Dent Res
February 2016
When choosing detection methods for secondary caries lesions, dentists need to weigh sensitivity, allowing early initiation of retreatments to avoid lesion progression, against specificity, aiming to reduce risks of false-positive diagnoses and invasive overtreatments. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of different detection methods for proximal secondary lesions using Monte Carlo microsimulations. A vital permanent molar with an occlusal-proximal restoration was simulated over the lifetime of an initially 20-y-old.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSecondary caries lesions are the main late complication of dental restorations, limiting their life span and generating costs by repeated reinterventions. Accurate detection of secondary lesions is crucial for estimating the true burden of the disease and allocating appropriate treatments. We aimed to assess the accuracy of detection methods for secondary caries lesions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Recent evidence finds mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) more effective than calcium hydroxide (CH) for direct pulp capping (DPC). The present study assessed the cost-effectiveness of MTA versus CH for DPC using a model-based simulation approach.
Methods: A mixed public/private payer perspective in the context of German health care was adopted.
Background: Interventions to improve palliative care encounter challenges beyond the usual implementation problems because of palliative care's complex and changing character. In this study, we explored barriers and facilitators faced by health-care professionals in five European countries (England, Germany, Italy, Norway and the Netherlands) with regard to improving the organization of their palliative care service.
Methods: Semi-structured individual and focus group interviews were conducted with purposefully selected health-care professionals.
The cell-envelope of Mycobacterium tuberculosis plays a key role in bacterial virulence and antibiotic resistance. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms of regulation of cell-envelope formation. Here, we elucidate functional and structural properties of RNase AS, which modulates M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe impact of land use changes on sustainable development is of increasing interest in many regions of the world. This study aimed to test the transferability of the Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA), which was originally developed in the European context, to developing countries, in which lack of data often prevents the use of data-driven impact assessment methods. The core aspect of FoPIA is the stakeholder-based assessment of alternative land use scenarios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol
February 2009
The NORMTOX model predicts the lifetime-averaged exposure to contaminants through multiple environmental media, that is, food, air, soil, drinking and surface water. The model was developed to test the coherence of Dutch environmental quality objectives (EQOs). A set of EQOs is called coherent if simultaneous exposure to different environmental media that are all polluted up to their respective EQOs does not result in exceeding the acceptable or tolerable daily intake (ADI or TDI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of derivatized azobenzene molecules are synthesized such that one of the phenyl groups can be chemically bonded to mesostructured silica and the other, derivatized with dendrons, is free to undergo large-amplitude light-driven motion. The silica frameworks on which the motion takes place are either 150 nm thick films containing ordered hexagonal arrays of tubes (inner diameter about 2 nm) containing the bonded azobenzenes, or particles (about 500 nm in diameter) containing the same ordered arrays of functionalized tubes. The photoisomerization yields and the rate constants for the thermal cis to trans back-reaction of the azobenzenes in the tubes are measured and compared to those of the molecules in solution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTijdschr Gerontol Geriatr
December 2003
In this article a research has been described funded by the province Fryslân. The aim of this research project is bipartite. First, to determine the reliability and the validity of the instrument and, secondly, to inquire the involved residents living in old people's homes after the valuation of the use of the Frisian language in the care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA limited number of Member States in the EU have gained experience with establishing co-operative agreements between agriculture and the water sector. Their main aim is to reduce or prevent water pollution caused by intensive farming practices. The research has shown that significant changes in farming practices have been achieved as a result of negotiation between farmers and water suppliers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated the effects of cocaine and corticosterone on the noradrenaline-induced relaxation of rat oesophageal smooth muscle in the absence and presence of the selective beta2-antagonist, ICI 111,551. It was found that the concentration-response curve (CRC) of noradrenaline was not shifted by ICI 118,551 at 1 microM, whereas a clear shift to the right was observed at 100 microM of the antagonist. In the presence of corticosterone (10 microM), CRC's were clearly shifted to the left; with cocaine (10 microM) additionally present, a further leftward shift was observed, indicating the involvement of both neuronal and extraneuronal uptake sites.
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