Non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) is no risk factor of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women in the general population

UMC Utrecht
Epidemiologic studies aimed at correlating coronary heart disease (CHD) with serum ferritin levels have thus far yielded inconsistent results. We hypothesized that, non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) that appears in individuals with overt or cryptic iron overload might be more suitable for establishing correlations with CHD. We therefore investigated the relation of NTBI, serum iron, transferrin saturation and serum ferritin with risk of CHD and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The cohort used comprised a population-based sample of 11,471 postmenopausal women aged 49-70 years at enrolment in 1993-1997. During a median follow-up of 4.3 years (quartile limits Q1-Q3, 3.3-5.4), 185 CHD events were identified, including 66 AMI events. We conducted a case-cohort study using all CHD cases and a random sample from the baseline cohort (n=1,134). A weighted Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate hazard ratios for tertiles of iron parameters in relation to CHD and AMI. Adjusted hazard ratios of women in the highest NTBI tertile (range: 0.38; 3.51) as compared to the lowest (range: -2.06; -0.32) were 0.84 (95% CI: 0.61-1.16) for CHD and 0.47 (95% CI: 0.31-0.71) for AMI. The results were similar for serum iron, transferrin saturation and serum ferritin. Conclusions: Our results show no excess risk of CHD or AMI within the highest NTBI tertile as compared to the lowest, but rather seem to demonstrate a decreased risk. Additional studies are warranted to confirm our findings.
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Vessel designs for two routes suitable for high-speed inland freight transport

IMAA Ltd
Based on required specifications, design for two types of PACSCAT River Freighters were prepared with accompanying general arrangement drawings. The 135m long designs for the Danube were designed to carry 45 trucks in a RoRo configuration. A similar rigged vessel was designed to carry 240 TEU for operation on the lower Rhine? Both could transport deadweight of about 2000t at up to 38km/hr (20kts) in shallow water only 1.5m deep.

Safer flights thanks to the SUPRA project

A new EU-funded project will help to improve air safety by training pilots to deal with hazardous situations and extreme air conditions and studying how they become disoriented during dangerous situations while in flight. The SUPRA ('Simulation of upset recovery in aviation') project, funded at EUR 3.7 million under the Transport Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), is a consortium of nine scientific research institutes and industrial concerns coordinated by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) which will provide the use of two completely new types of flight simulators. One of the partners, the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, is investigating the motion perception of pilots in extreme situations and is studying how the brain analyses both balance and visual information in extreme flight conditions. Pilots already receive a lot of training on flight simulators as well as real aircraft flight training. During training, tricky flight manoeuvres such as take-off and landing are already carried out with flight simulators, but extreme flight situations are much more difficult to carry out tests for. The SUPRA project, which began in September 2009, is choosing relevant training scenarios for its array of tests and is working in collaboration with professional test pilots to study how pilots perceive aircraft motion during extreme situations and how and why they become disoriented. The research team is especially interested in interactions between the pilots' vision and the signals that the brain receives from the inner ear. A robotic arm will be used to expose test pilots to a variety of accelerations while they simultaneously view a computer-generated environment. By using both visual and balance systems, the tests are intended to 'trick' the brain, so the test pilots believe they are actually involved in a flight manoeuvre rather than an experiment. For example, the tests will give pilots the impression of experiencing acceleration exclusively through visual stimulation and not with real motion - the same type of technique that is used in flight simulator models. Professor Heinrich H. Bülthoff from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, said, 'In these times of ever increasing mobility, thorough training of new pilots is an important theme. We are pleased that the European Union has provided us with the opportunity to work with an international team to make an important contribution to flight safety by improving pilot training.'
Quality validation date: 2009-12-08

Marine biofouling

University of Birmingham
Know-how on the use of laboratory test methods to evaluate anti-fouling coating performance.

Evaluation of well being, quality of life and functionality in frail elderly

University of Bristol
This work package addressed physical activity, psychological well-being, quality of life and links with functionality in the frail elderly. The study provided the largest European data set on objectively measured (accelerometry) physical activity in older people aged 70 and over. This was accompanied by estimates of mental well-being and quality of life through standardised questionnaires. Older people have very low levels of daily activity, particularly at a level of intensity that would improve health. This indicates that there is a lot of scope for programmes and policy designed to enhance walking and other forms of activity. Mental health is weakly and positively related to daily physical activity. Qualitative and quantitative data showed that engagement in the standardised exercise training programme improved aspects of mental well-being. It was seen as a very positive experience by participants. However, we found no evidence that the programme outcomes translated into greater levels of daily activity. Further analyses are currently being conducted as agreed in the initial contract. More research is needed to assess determinants of daily physical activity and physical independence in this population. Results are summarised in a dissemination document made available to leading non governmental and governmental organisations concerned with the health of elderly people.

Analysis of rural development impact of case-study organic marketing initiatives

University of Wales Aberystwyth
Our study of Organic Marketing Initiatives (OMIs) was designed to explore the extent to which the benefits of organic production are secured and multiplied for the rural environment and the communities that depend on it by marketing and processing activities. We used a comparative case study approach (informed by Actor Network Theory) particularly as examples of rural development driven by organic production are as yet relatively rare. Four case study OMIs were selected in Austria, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, and the process involved both local teams and researchers from other countries, and an Advisory Committee of local actors. Fieldwork was carried out consecutively in October and November 2002. The key contributions of the OMIs to rural development of all OMIs studied are relatively modest in terms of direct income and employment generation, although their indirect or softer contributions are considerable, supporting and embedding confidence and raising regional profile. They also provide a model for improved impacts in the future, particularly if marketing management can be improved. Most operate in peripheral areas valued for their culture, landscape and production of traditional, typical regional products; most have good transport links to thriving markets. Institutional conditions provide a key dimension to rural development success. However, other initiatives capitalising on regional image have bypassed organic producers, who have tended to concentrate on more specialised opportunities; tensions exist as to whether organic agriculture should be promoted as a mainstream opportunity or market niche. We use Actor Network Theory (ANT) to explore interdependence between initiatives and regional institutional actors in rural development processes. The main process analysed by the ANT is the growth and extension of spheres of influence and power, through processes of translation or enrolment. Translation follows four stages: an actor analysing a situation, defining the problem and proposing a solution; other actors becoming interested in the solution proposed and changing their affiliation to a group in favour of the new actor; the solution becomes accepted as a new concept and a new network of interests generated; and finally, the new network operating to implement the proposed solution. This framework is increasingly used for analysis of rural change processes, showing how rural networks function, and exploring their ability to involve various stakeholders into a common set of interests. Case study OMIs have not been particularly active in introducing their ideas and solutions to institutional structures, though the prevailing institutional climate plays a key role in the nature and extent of the cooperation. OMIs should attempt to become more open-minded: internally, they need to absorb newly converted organic farmers whose perceptions and experience is likely to be different from that of the existing membership; externally, in the framework of intensifying competition, partnership between OMIs is required in consumer education, promoting the wider social, cultural and environmental benefits of organic food. Conflict and misunderstanding between regional policymakers and OMIs need to be resolved through a process of dialogue and integration; this will help to reinforce public sector support for the process of new OMI formation, and also to take advantage of Structural Funds. National governments have a clearly defined role in supporting the organic sector, in regulating organic standards, providing conversion aids, carrying out research and providing extension services. A broader perspective, concentrating on the position of primary organic production in the supply chain, would assist OMIs; specifically by investigating the market potential of supply chains extending beyond home regions, and provision of supportive infrastructure; and contributing their own resources to supplement the likely shortfall in the Rural Development Plans funding. All the OMIs we investigated had a keen interest in and a desire to learn from the experience of others. The European Commission, in consultation with national governments, should act to establish a continent-wide network of producer initiatives, which market sustainably produced primary products to disseminate best practice.

Whole blood-oxygen binding properties of 4 cold-temperate fishes: Blood-affinity is independent of pH-dependent binding, routine swimming and hypoxia

University of Copenhagen
The relationship between whole blood-oxygen affinity (P50) and pH-dependent binding (i.e. cooperativity and the Bohr (F) and Root effects) was examined statistically under standardized conditions (10.0C) in four unrelated cold-temperate marine fishes that differ widely in their swimming performance and their expected responses to hypoxia: Cod (Gadus morhua), herring (Clupea harengus), mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and plaice (Pleuronectes platessa). An unexpected difference in blood oxygen affinity was found (herring > plaice > mackerel > cod) and this was independent of both swimming performance and the predicted low O2 response of each species. The ecotype of the four marine species was also unrelated to pH dependent binding because no difference in the Bohr effect was apparent (F varied insignificantly from -0.90 to -1.06) and differences in the magnitude of the cooperative binding reaction was associated only with the presence of the Root effect. Although several reviews propose a generalized link between blood-oxygen affinity and pH-dependent binding, our results advise against overestimating the adaptive functional properties of haemoglobin across unrelated species.

Test board to evaluate lead-free soldering process and materials

Thomson R&D France
To allow a systematic and precise evaluation of new EFSOT solder paste, a test board was developed, it is used to validate all kinds of very fine pitch printing and soldering as well as more specific needs such as: cleaning feasibility, insulation properties, power components soldering, compatibility of various PCB finishing (Imm Tin, Imm Silver, Gold, OSP, thickfilm Ag/Cu) with LF solder etc... The design did contain the different standard pattern of TTA, Philips and AB for comparison and has been used intensively by TTA, Philips and AB to manufacture boards and validate the soldering processes (Screen printing parameters and cleaning, paste deposite, demolding and abandon time, Oven profiles) This test is a major support for implementing high yield lead-free processes. The window framing design of AB was found to give best results in high volume production using AOI.

CrossROAD prototype

Institute for Informatics and Telematics (IIT)
CrossROAD represents an optimised p2p system for ad hoc networks, based on the Pastry overlay network model. Specifically it exploits a cross-layer architecture, using network routing table information in order to maintain a correspondence between the physical network topology and the logical address space, where nodes and data are mapped. In order to have a complete and updated knowledge of the network topology, a proactive routing protocol is needed, and for this reason we selected an open source implementation of OLSR (Unik-OLSR v.0.4.8) that allows the definition of libraries dynamically loaded by the routing daemon at the startup, in order to export routing information to other applications, or to define additional information to be sent on the network through the proactive flooding of routing packets. These libraries are called plugins. In our prototype a plugin, called XL-plugin, has been defined in order to encapsulate additional information in routing packets. This information is represented by services identifiers, used to associate to each node the list of services locally provided. When OLSR receives a routing message containing this additional information, it passes the contents to XL-plugin that provides to store services identifiers of other nodes in its local data structures. For this reason XL-plugin maintains two local data structures: LocalService Table and GlobalService Table. Specifically, the LocalService Table maintains the list of services provided by the local node, while the GlobalService Table maintains, for each service present in the network and currently running on CrossROAD, the list of nodes providing it. All entries are timed out in order to preserve the consistency of the service information. In this way, when a node starts running an application on top of CrossROAD, it declares its service identifier and CrossROAD directly establishes a local connection to the plugin in order to receive the list of nodes taking part to that specific overlay. Then, when the local application sends a message with a specified key value, CrossROAD first checks the consistency of its internal data structures with the list provided by the plugin, then it determines the best destination for that key and directly sends the message to it. More details on software architecture of CrossROAD and XL-plugin can be found in deliverable D13.

Demonstration of the functional response of olfactory receptors in nanosomes deposited on solid supports by surface plasmon resonance

NOPA / NOeMI Research Unit
We used Surface Plasmon Resonance technique for monitoring the functional response of the olfactory receptors in the nanosomes once immobilized on solid suports. The procedure consisted on two steps: in the first step immobilization of the nanosomes on the sensorchip was verified while in the second specific response of the immobilized nanosomes to odorants were monitorized. Previuous test experiments with bovine rhodopsine membrane fraction were performed. For the verification of the nanosome immobilization the membrane fraction corresponding to yeast cells expressing rat I7 was injected on top of a L1 sensor chip (gold surface covered with dextran modified with lipophilic compounds). Then subsequently the polyclonal anti-I7 antibody was injected. No detection could be obtained, even for highly concentrated membrane fraction deposition. One possible explanation is that the specific IgG is not concentrated enough within the anti-I7 polyclonal antibody. Even though no response was obtained in this case, the functional response tests proceeded. The straightforward idea would be to inject the odorant solution on the BIAcore sensor chip after immobilisation of the membrane fraction containing the olfactory receptor. However, since the odorants used are so small, their binding to the receptors of the membrane fraction cannot be directly detected. We thus decided to use a procedure set up by Vogel (Bieri et al.) to follow activation of rhodopsin. Golf departure is indeed detected upon heptanal (5mM) stimulation of the I7 receptor present in the membrane fraction deposited on the L1 sensor chip (0.004mg/ml total protein concentration in membrane fraction deposited), in the presence of 10mM GTP. In summary, the olfactory receptor is indeed still in its active form in the membrane fraction deposited onto the sensor chip. Golf is still present in the membrane fraction, pre-associated with the olfactory receptor. Stimulation of the olfactory receptor by its odorant ligand induces its conformational change, and thus its interaction with the a subunit (Golf) of the G protein, which dissociates from the trimer. This event is detected by the BIAcore.

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