This study examined whether risk status and cumulative risk were associated with autonomic nervous system reactivity and recovery, and emotion regulation in infants. The sample included 121 6-month-old infants. Classification of risk status was based on World Health Organization criteria (e.g., presence of maternal psychopathology, substance use, and social adversity). Heart rate, parasympathetic respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and sympathetic preejection period were examined at baseline and across the still face paradigm. Infant emotion regulation was coded during the still face paradigm. Infants in the high-risk group showed increased heart rate, parasympathetic withdrawal, and sympathetic activation during recovery from the still face episode. Higher levels of cumulative risk were associated with increased sympathetic nervous system activation. Moreover, increased heart rate during recovery in the high-risk group was mediated by both parasympathetic and sympathetic activity, indicating mobilization of sympathetic resources when confronted with socioemotional challenge. Distinct indirect pathways were observed from maternal risk to infant emotion regulation during the still face paradigm through parasympathetic and sympathetic regulation. These findings underline the importance of specific measures of parasympathetic and sympathetic response and recovery, and indicate that maternal risk is associated with maladaptive regulation of stress early in life reflecting increased risk for later psychopathology.

Suboptimal maternal dietary intake during pregnancy might lead to fetal cardiovascular adaptations and higher blood pressure in the offspring. The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations of maternal first-trimester dietary intake with blood pressure in children at the age of 6 years. We assessed first-trimester maternal daily dietary intake by a FFQ and measured folate, homocysteine and vitamin B12 concentrations in the blood, in a population-based prospective cohort study among 2863 mothers and children. Childhood systolic and diastolic blood pressure was measured using a validated automatic sphygmomanometer. First-trimester maternal daily intake of energy, fat, protein and carbohydrate was not associated with childhood blood pressure. Furthermore, maternal intake of micronutrients was not associated with childhood blood pressure. Also, higher maternal vitamin B12 concentrations were associated with a higher diastolic blood pressure (0·31 mmHg per standard deviation increase in vitamin B12 (95 % CI 0·06, 0·56)). After taking into account multiple testing, none of the associations was statistically significant. Maternal first-trimester folate and homocysteine concentrations were not associated with childhood blood pressure. The results from the present study suggest that maternal Fe intake and vitamin B12 concentrations during the first trimester of pregnancy might affect childhood blood pressure, although the effect estimates were small and were not significant after correction for multiple testing. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings, to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and to assess whether these differences in blood pressure persist in later life.

Saccadic suppression is selective, inhibiting only low spatial frequencies. High spatial frequencies need not be inhibited during saccades, for a rapidly moving retina lacks the temporal resolution to detect them. Low spatial frequencies are inhibited by suppressing magnocellular channels. Thus color information is not suppressed, as confirmed in two laboratories. Targets flashed during and just before saccades can be mislocalized because vision normally ignores presaccadic position information.

We identify two aspects of the problem of maintaining perceptual stability despite an observer's eye movements. The first, visual direction constancy, is the (egocentric) stability of apparent positions of objects in the visual world relative to the perceiver. The second, visual position constancy, is the (exocentric) stability of positions of objects relative to each other. We analyze the constancy of visual direction despite saccadic eye movements.

Three information sources have been proposed to enable the visual system to achieve stability: the structure of the visual field, proprioceptive inflow, and a copy of neural efference or outflow to the extraocular muscles. None of these sources by itself provides adequate information to achieve visual direction constancy; present evidence indicates that all three are used.

Our final question concerns how information processing operations result in a stable world. The three traditionally suggested means have been elimination, translation, or evaluation. All are rejected. From a review of the physiological and psychological evidence we conclude that no subtraction, compensation, or evaluation need take place. The problem for which these solutions were developed turns out to be a false one. We propose a “calibration” solution: correct spatiotopic positions are calculated anew for each fixation. Inflow, outflow, and retinal sources are used in this calculation: saccadic suppression of displacement bridges the errors between these sources and the actual extent of movement.

A collaborative exercise, supervised by the World Health Organisation, was set up to compare ELISAs used for the serological detection of Salmonella enteritica serotype Enteritidis in chickens. The aim was to ascertain how far agreement could be reached on the interpretation of optical density readings for high titre, intermediate titre and low titre sera. Two sets of sera were sent to 14 participants. The first set compared high, medium and low titre sera raised in specified-pathogen-free and commercial broiler breeder chickens. The second set comprised 20 sera of different antibody titres raised in commercial birds reared under laboratory conditions and sent blind. Both indirect and double-antibody sandwich blocking ELISAs were used with a number of different detecting antigens. With a few exceptions good agreement was reached on the interpretation of results obtained from high and low titre sera from the optical density obtained with a single serum dilution. Differences were observed in the interpretation of medium titre sera. The results suggested that most ELISAs produce reasonably comparable results and that practical problems may arise from interpretation of the results mainly as a result of the choice of the criteria used for differentiating sera obtained from infected and uninfected chickens. These problems are discussed.

As part of a cooperation between several TNO institutes, including TNO Prins Maurits Laboratory, recently a new initiative on nanotechnology was started. The research subjects within this initiative can be roughly divided into two areas: (1) Instrumentation for analysis and manufacture at nano-scale and (2) Nanoscale engineering techniques to create materials and components (including their applications). Currently the research at TNO Prins Maurits Laboratory is focusing on the application of reactive nanomaterials to decontaminate surfaces from e.g. bacteria or toxic chemicals, the use of plasma's to generate nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes, and the application and characterization of nanomaterials in energetic formulations (e.g. explosives, propellants and pyrotechnic compositions). In this paper results on the latter subject will be presented in more detail. Also results will be included of other research projects involved with energetic/reactive nanomaterials.

The explanatory gap refers to the lack of concepts for understanding “how it is that . . . a state of consciousness comes about as a result of irritating nervous tissue.” By assuming that there are colours in the outside world, Block needlessly widens this gap and Lycan and Kitcher simply fail to see the gap. When such assumptions are abandoned, an unnecessary and incomprehensible constraint disappears. It then becomes clear that the brain can use its own neural language for representing aspects of the outside world. While this may not close the gap, it becomes clearer where we need new concepts.