Closure of Disputes in Assessments of Climate Change in The Netherlands.

/ This paper presents an analysis of the closure of visible disputes in the assessments of climate change in the Netherlands. We focus primarily on two key constituents of the assessments: the estimate of climate sensitivity and the inclusion of non-CO2 greenhouse gases in assessment studies. For the cases studied, we identify variability in the assessment reports in the Netherlands during the pre-IPCC period.

Drafting guidelines for occupational exposure to chemicals: the Dutch experience with the assessment of reproductive risks.

The Dutch procedure for standard setting for occupational exposure to chemicals, just like the European Union (EU) procedure, is characterized by an organizational separation between considerations of health on the one side, and of technology, economics, and policy on the other side. Health considerations form the basis for numerical guidelines. These guidelines are next combined with technical-economical considerations.

Cerebrospinal fluid pulse pressure and the pulsatile variation in cerebral blood volume: an experimental study in dogs.

The cerebrospinal fluid pulse pressure (CSFPP) has found application as a measure of intracranial elastance. However, CSFPP is also dependent on the magnitude of the pulsatile variation in cerebral blood volume (delta Vb). The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect on delta Vb of changes in systemic arterial pressure (SAP) and arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) as well as elevation of intracranial pressure (ICP).

Stimulus processing during apparent unconsciousness in anesthetized volunteers.

Return of motor-responses upon request as an indicator of stimulus processing during apparent unconsciousness in general anesthesia was studied in 8 healthy, male volunteers during prolonged inhalation of nitrous oxide. First the minimal effective concentration of nitrous oxide was established for each volunteer, based upon continued absence of motor-responses to repeated verbal commands. One week later this concentration of nitrous oxide was administered for a 3-hr.

Clinical observations on the relationship between cerebrospinal fluid pulse pressure and intracranial pressure.

A method is described for monitoring the relationship between CSF pulse pressure and ICP in clinical patients. Highly significant linear relationships were found during 65 continuous ICP recordings in 58 patients. The slope value of this relationship showed a positive correlation with the elastance coefficient, a volume-pressure parameter assessed by bolus injection.

The role of the pulsatile pressure variations in intracranial pressure monitoring.

The magnitude of the pulsatile intracranial pressure variations (CSF pulse pressure) is determined by the elastance of the craniospinal system and by the magnitude of the pulsatile variations in cerebral blood volume (CBV). The pulsatile change in CBV is, among other factors, determined by the compliance of the cerebral vascular bed which, in its turn, is dependent on the cerebral vasomotor tone. This concept has led the authors to devise a method for the assessment of both the elastance and the state of the cerebral vasomotor tone based on the relationship between CSF pulse pressure and intracranial pressure.

Tolerance to nitrous oxide in volunteers.

Nociception and loss of awareness during exposure to anaesthetic concentration of nitrous oxide (N2O) were studied in eight male medical students. The cold water nociception test, where a hand is immersed in 0 degree C stirred water, was used for measurement of nociception. At irregular intervals an auditory command was given to oppose two fingers, and this served to monitor consciousness.

A method for two dimensional multi-segmental kinematic and kinetic analysis of normal and pathological human gait.

The application of an integrated gait analysis system in clinical research is described. With this system it is possible to analyse the walking pattern of various groups of patients with regard to foot-floor contact, kinematics and kinetics, using a Selspot system. In order to study various groups of patients an extensive body-segment model adapted to the variety in patient groups is dealt with and is related to data from the literature.

Visual evoked potentials, auditory evoked potentials and EEG in shunted hydrocephalic children.

Visual evoked potentials (VEP) and auditory evoked potentials (AEP) were studied together with the EEG, in 15 hydrocephalic children who had been shunted previously, and in a control group of 10 normal children. From the control group normal VEP's, AEP's and EEG's were obtained. In all 15 hydrocephalic children the EEG was abnormal.

Effects of hypercapnia and arterial hypotension and hypertension on cerebrospinal fluid pulse pressure and intracranial volume-pressure relationships.

In twelve anaesthetised, ventilated dogs the effects of hypercapnia and pharmacologically induced arterial hypotension and hypertension on the interrelation between volume-pressure response (VPR) and cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) pulse pressure were studied during continuous inflation of a supratentorial extradural balloon. Hypercapnia did not significantly affect the intracranial volume-pressure relationships, but did cause a significant increase in gradient of the relationship between CSF pulse pressure and intracranial pressure (ICP). Alteration of the arterial blood pressure showed opposite effects on VPR and CSF pulse pressure.

Cerebrospinal fluid pulse pressure and intracranial volume-pressure relationships.

In six anaesthetised and ventilated dogs the CSF pulse pressure was compared with the volume-pressure response (VPR) during continuous inflation of an extradural balloon. Both pulse pressure and VPR increased linearly with the ventricular fluid pressure (VFP) up to a mean VFP of 60 mmHg. At this pressure a breakpoint occurred above which the CSF pulse pressure showed a steeper linear increase, while the VPR remained constant.