Towards integration of assessments,with reference to integrated water management projects in third world countries

This paper addresses the problem of sectoral approach in the formulation and assessment of projects in development co-operation. Sectoral studies and reports often ignore cross-links between aspects covering poverty, gender, culture, social and institutional fabric, and environment. A first important improvement would be to synchronise the execution of the various sectoral studies. Further improvement may be found in the integration of sectoral studies. Two different forms can be distinguished. At a lower level of integration, the studies are required to focus on a common set of alternatives. At a higher level, one single assessment will cover all relevant cross-sectoral aspects. The paper presents some preliminary reflections and experiences by the Commission for Environmental Impact Assessment in the Netherlands on development of a conceptual framework for integration of assessments.     

Fenoldopam: a new dopamine agonist for the treatment of hypertensive urgencies and emergencies

Vascular nephropathies are a steadily increasing cause of end-stage renal failure. Arterionephrosclerosis and arteriolonephrosclerosis are common features in the hypertensive patient. This is especially true for blacks of African descent, in whom hypertension and nephrovasculopathies are a major cause of renal insufficiency. That primary hypertension leads to renal vascular lesions, glomerular obsolescence and interstitial fibrosis has long been established. It should not, however, obscure the fact that renal vascular lesions can be observed in animal models as well as in some humans, especially young blacks, in the absence of, or anticipating the onset of hypertension. This leads to considering the hypothesis that nephroangiosclerosis might stem from a genetic defect in the renal vascular bed and that this defect is strongly associated with the hypertensive trait. Atherosclerotic renal disease is a major, potentially treatable cause of chronic renal disease is a major, potentially treatable cause of chronic renal failure, especially in whites. It leads to renal atrophy, but the ischemic kidney retains a vigorous potential for tubular cell regeneration, which pleads for early recognition and treatment. Recent data suggest that renal ischemia, be it due to renal artery stenosis or to cholesterol crystal embolism, ranks among the multiple causes of secondary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Irrespective of its initial mechanism, ischemia induces renal fibrosis, the pathophysiology of which is centered on increased generation of angiotensin II. Finally, renal vascular lesions are commonly observed in the course of various nephropathies, even in the absence of hypertension, and the relationship between these lesions and the unfavorable prognosis of glomerulopathies, especially primary focal-segmental glomerulosclerosis, membranous glomerulopathy and IgA glomerulonephritis, remains to be elucidated. Expanding knowledge of the spectrum of nephrovasculopathies opens perspectives for investigating, understanding and treating a major mechanism of progressive renal insufficiency.     

Human cytochrome P4502B6: interindividual hepatic expression, substrate specificity, and role in procarcinogen activation

In situ hybridization was combined with serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) or tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemistry and with Fluoro-Gold retrograde labeling of bulbo-spinal pathways in order to investigate the expression of GAP-43 mRNA in monoamine cell groups of the adult rat brain stem. Consistent with previous reports, GAP-43 mRNA was observed in serotonin and dopamine cell groups in the pons. In addition, GAP-43 expressing cells were observed in all the major monoamine cell groups in the medulla. Thus the B1, B2 and B3 serotonin cell groups all showed high GAP-43 expression in all contained many GAP-43 expressing serotonin cells with spinal cord projections. The A1, A2, A5 and A6 noradrenaline cell groups also showed high GAP-43 expression, although cells with spinal cord projections were largely restricted to the A5 group and A6 subcoeruleus region. In all areas, GAP-43 expressing cells with spinal cord projections were also observed which were not serotonergic or noradrenergic.     

Evaluation of disease status with sensitive measures of growth hormone secretion in 60 postoperative patients with acromegaly

Traditionally, suppression of GH measured by polyclonal RIA to less than 2.0 microg/L after oral glucose was accepted as evidence of remission after transsphenoidal surgery for acromegaly. Recently, with newer, more sensitive GH assays, a cut-off of less than 1.0 microg/L has been suggested. With the development of accurate insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) assays, additional tools are now available for assessing postoperative GH secretion. There has, however, never been a systematic comparison of sensitive GH, IGF-I, and IGFBP-3 assays in defining disease status in a large cohort of postoperative patients with acromegaly. Therefore, we evaluated how the use of modern assays impacts on our assessment of disease activity in these patients. Sixty postoperative subjects with acromegaly and 25 age-matched healthy subjects were evaluated with nadir GH levels after 100 g oral glucose as well as baseline IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels. GH was assayed by polyclonal RIA, sensitive immunoradiometric assay (IRMA), and highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mean nadir GH determined by IRMA was 0.09 +/- 0.004 microg/L in the healthy subjects, with the upper limit of the normal nadir being 0.14 microg/L (mean + 2 SD). Subjects with acromegaly were divided into those with active disease (n = 22), defined by elevated IGF-I levels, and those in remission (n = 38), defined by normal IGF-I levels. GH determined by IRMA failed to suppress into the normal range defined by our healthy subjects in all patients with active disease; nadir GH determined by IRMA ranged from 0.33-5.0 microg/L in this group. In 50% of the active group, nadir GH levels determined by IRMA were less than 1.0 microg/L, a GH nadir previously considered normal by strict criteria. When nadir GH levels in the subjects with active disease were measured by polyclonal RIA, there was overlap with the range of RIA values in the healthy subjects. Thus, the IRMA was superior to the RIA in that the overlap between these two groups was eliminated. Subjects with acromegaly in remission included those with normal GH suppression (n = 23; mean nadir GH by IRMA, 0.10 +/- 0.006 microg/L) and others with abnormal GH suppression by IRMA (n = 15; mean nadir GH by IRMA, 0.35 +/- 0.07 microg/L). The latter group may have persistent GH dysregulation detected by the sensitive IRMA. GH levels measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay confirmed the IRMA results. IGFBP-3 levels were significantly higher in subjects with active acromegaly (4940 +/- 301 microg/L) vs. those in healthy subjects (2887 +/- 153 microg/L; P < 0.0001) and those in the subjects in remission (2966 microg/L; P < 0.0001). IGFBP-3 levels correlated overall with IGF-I levels (r = 0.765; P < 0.0001), but IGFBP-3 levels were not predictive of disease status because 32% of the subjects with active acromegaly had normal IGFBP-3 levels. In addition, failure of GH to suppress adequately was not associated with a higher IGFBP-3 level among the subjects in remission. These data indicate that the IRMA is superior to the RIA in distinguishing between patients with active disease (defined by elevated IGF-I levels) and healthy subjects. We also show that GH levels after oral glucose measured with highly sensitive GH assays can be much lower in subjects with active disease than previously believed; values less than 1.0 microg/L may be found in up to 50% of patients. In addition, in 39% of patients in apparent remission with normal IGF-I levels, GH determined by highly sensitive assays fails to suppress normally; it remains to be determined whether these patients are at higher risk for recurrence of active disease.     

Standard methods for land-use planning to determine the effects on societal risk

In the Netherlands, the individual risk and the societal risk are used in efforts to reduce the number of people exposed to the effects of an accident. In principle, the societal risk for each new land-use plan should be recalculated. Since this is proving increasingly cumbersome for planning agencies, several methods have been developed for SEVESO establishments and establishments for which in the Netherlands a generic zoning policy is used to determine the effects of new land-use plans on the societal risk. The methods give the uniform population density from a certain distance around the establishment at which the indicative limit for the societal risk is not exceeded. Correction factors are determined for non-uniform population distributions around the establishment, non-continuous residence times and deviating societal risk limits. Using these methods allows decision-making without the necessity of repeating quantified risk analyses for each alternative proposal.     

通信测试仪用绕组铁心的焊接

本文以J6081型电缆障碍测试仪绕组铁心的紧固为例,介绍了采用Ar+H_2混合气钵保护焊(非熔化极)取代传统的铆接工艺,并详细阐述了ZXG-300型焊机的主电源电路,焊接电流控制系统,高频引弧电路的改进方法及其工作原理.同时分析了两种工艺的技术及经济效果,结果表明,改进合理,效益显著.     

Mercury blockade of thiazide-sensitive NaCl cotransport in flounder urinary bladder

The effects of HgCl2 on ion transport were investigated using isolated sheets of flounder urinary bladder, a model epithelium that is capable of electrically silent NaCl absorption and electrogenic K secretion. Exposure of the mucosal surface of the bladder to submicromolar doses of HgCl2 reduced K secretion, but the effect was not due to blockade of apical K channels. Rather, the effects of HgCl2 were virtually identical to those seen with experimental maneuvers that blocked the thiazide-sensitive NaCl cotransporter in the apical membrane, e.g., hydrochlorothiazide, Cl-free solutions, and Na-free solutions. Mucosal HgCl2 also blocked 22Na absorption, suggesting that the effect of the metal was mediated by blockade of NaCl entry. The effects of HgCl2 had a rapid onset and were readily reversed by washing, suggesting a noncovalent binding reaction. The abundance of polyanionic Hg complexes in salt solutions prompts the speculation that one of these may bind to the Cl-binding site on the cotransporter, thereby blocking it. The results provide the first evidence that the thiazide-sensitive NaCl cotransporter is a specific site of action for inorganic mercury.     

The HMG-CoA Reductase Gene and Lipid and Lipoprotein Levels: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) is an enzyme involved in cholesterol synthesis. To investigate the contribution of the HMGCR gene to lipids and lipoprotein subfractions in different ethnicities, we performed an association study in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). In total, 2,444 MESA subjects [597 African-Americans (AA), 627 Chinese-Americans (CHA), 612 European-Americans (EA), and 608 Hispanic-Americans (HA)] without statin use were included. Participants had measurements of blood pressure, anthropometry, and fasting blood samples. Subjects were genotyped for 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). After excluding SNPs with minor allele frequency <5%, a single block was constructed. The most frequent haplotype was H1 (41–56%) in all ethnic groups except AA (H2a, 44.9%). Lower triglyceride level was associated with the H2a haplotype in AA and H2 in HA. In HA, H4 carriers had higher levels of triglyceride and small low-density lipoprotein (s-LDL), and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), while carriers with H7 or H8 had associations with these traits in the opposite direction. No significant association was discovered in both CHA and EA. The total variation for triglyceride that could be explained by H2 alone was 2.6% in HA and 1.4% in AA. In conclusion, HMGCR gene variation is associated with multiple lipid/lipoprotein traits, especially with triglyceride, s-LDL, and HDL-c. The impact of the genetic variance is modest and differs greatly among ethnicities.     

Healthy Aims: Developing New Medical Implants and Diagnostic Equipment

Healthy Aims is a 23- million, four-year project, funded under the EU's information society technology sixth framework program to develop intelligent medical implants and diagnostic systems (www.healthyaims.org). The project has 25 partners from 10 countries, including commercial, clinical, and research groups. This consortium represents a combination of disciplines to design and fabricate new medical devices and components as well as to test them in laboratories and subsequent clinical trials. The project focuses on medical implants for nerve stimulation and diagnostic equipment based on strain-gauge technology.