RIVM Publications Repository
Each year the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) produces numerous reports and publications on all aspects of public health, nutrition and food, health care, disaster management, nature and the environment.
In addition, RIVM employees publish scientific articles in national and international journals.
Elk jaar brengt het Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM) talloze rapporten en adviezen uit over volksgezondheid en gezondheidszorg, voeding, natuur en milieu en rampenbestrijding.
Daarnaast publiceren RIVM-medewerkers wetenschappelijke artikelen in (inter-)nationale tijdschriften.
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Recent Submissions
Publication Critical Evaluation of Methods for the Identification of Aneugens(2025-07-18)The genotoxic potential of chemicals must be evaluated in regulatory safety assessment settings, including but not limited to, the development of new pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, food and cosmetic ingredients, and agrochemicals. Initial assessment of the chromosome-damaging potential of chemicals is often conducted in mammalian cells using the micronucleus (MN) assay, a method capable of detecting both aneugenicity and clastogenicity. When differentiation between these modes of action (MOAs) is necessary, microscopy-based analyses using fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) or CREST staining have traditionally been employed. More recently, semi-automated in vitro new approach methods (NAMs), which leverage technologies like flow cytometry and high-content imaging, have increasingly been used across sectors due to their higher throughput and faster turnaround times. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis was conducted to systematically evaluate the merits and limitations of widely used NAMs in industry, with a focus on the pharmaceutical sector. Data from cultured mammalian cells exposed to reference aneugens (colchicine, taxol, and AMG900) and DNA-reactive clastogens (mitomycin C and methyl methanesulfonate) across methodologies are presented to illustrate the process of distinguishing aneugens from clastogens for the different techniques described herein. Collectively, these analyses highlight the capabilities of NAMs to distinguish aneugens from clastogens. The newer, high information content, semi-automated approaches were considered preferable to traditional microscopy-based FISH and CREST techniques as they provide insight into molecular mechanisms of aneugenicity and help optimize the design of future in vivo genotoxicity studies to facilitate deriving points of departure which may contribute to margin of exposure estimates.Publication Promoter pLsi1 driven PvACR3 expression in rice enhances arsenic phytoextraction in paddy soils(2025-06-27)Arsenic (As) contamination in paddy soils is a global problem, threatening rice production and food safety. Hyperaccumulator plants have garnered significant attention for their potential to remove pollutants from contaminated soil. However, no natural hyperaccumulators have been found for the phytoremediation of As-contaminated paddy soils under flooding conditions. One promising strategy is to genetically engineer (rice) to hyperaccumulate As for effective phytoremediation of paddy soil. A key challenge remains in increasing metal accumulation without compromising tolerance. Here, from the As hyperaccumulator was introduced under the control of a rice root-specific promoter to create high-As-accumulating and tolerant transgenic remediation rice. The remediation rice strains exhibited robust growth, with shoot As concentration reaching up to 451-557 mg/kg in a hydroponic experiment with 20 μM NaAsO treatment, and 45.9-80.3 mg/kg in pot experiments with moderately As-contaminated paddy soils. Compared to wild-type rice, the transgenic rice removed 23.5 times more As from the same paddy soils. By harvesting rice shoots before grain filling, the soil pore water As was almost completely depleted, and the acid-soluble and reducible fractions of As were significantly reduced. This study presents the first transgenic remediation rice characterized by high As accumulation, tolerance, and adaptability to paddy soils under flooding conditions for effective phytoremediation.Publication Authors' reply "Lessons from tuberculosis history"(2025-07-07)Publication Towards proton therapy guidelines for radiation therapists and dosimetrists: A scoping review(2025-07-13)With the increasing number of proton therapy centers worldwide, particularly in Europe, proton therapy is becoming a more established treatment option. However, education and guidelines, specifically tailored to radiation therapists (RTTs) and dosimetrists, are lacking. Through the "Towards a Sustainable RTT Network" (TaSeRnet) project, efforts are underway to harmonize proton therapy practices among RTTs and dosimetrists across Europe. This scoping review aims to identify and summarize existing guidelines relevant to RTTs and dosimetrists working in proton therapy, providing a necessary first step toward the future development of specific guidelines and education for these professions. Ten articles were identified that include guidelines covering certain aspects of proton therapy workflows in several clinical indications. However, significant gaps remain regarding the specific tasks performed by RTTs and dosimetrists. In particular, no guidelines were found addressing treatment execution, a workflow typically performed by RTTs. Moreover, the limited involvement of RTTs and dosimetrists in the development of existing guidelines may result in the exclusion of essential practical knowledge and expertise. As they play a critical role in the daily delivery of proton therapy, their input is vital to ensure comprehensive and applicable guidelines. In conclusion, this review underscores the need for developing guidelines specifically for RTTs and dosimetrists in collaboration with the broader multidisciplinary team. Developing such guidelines will support the standardization of clinical practice and contribute to improved quality of care.Publication Hydrophilicity-dependent photodegradation of antibiotics in ice: Freeze-concentration effects and dissolved organic matter interactions drive divergent kinetics, pathways and toxicity(2025-07-21)The photodegradation behavior of antibiotics with different hydrophilicity in ice and the synergistic effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) remains unclear. This study unravels the dual role of DOM in driving divergent photodegradation pathways for five antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole (SMZ), oxytetracycline (OTC), levofloxacin (LFX), ciprofloxacin (CIP), and norfloxacin (NOR)) with different hydrophilicity in ice and compares the outcomes with a similar treatment in aqueous systems under simulated sunlight. The results showed that the photodegradation of hydrophilic antibiotics (SMZ, OTC, LFX) in ice is faster compared to water, which attributed to freeze-concentration effects that enhance light absorption in ice's liquid-like regions (LLRs). Conversely, hydrophobic antibiotics (CIP, NOR) degraded faster in water due to solvent cage effects. DOM amplified the photodegradation of hydrophilic antibiotics in ice by enriching humic-like substances in LLRs, which generated more reactive singlet oxygen (e.g. 77.1 % contribution to SMZ degradation), while inhibited the photodegradation of hydrophobic antibiotic via protein-like substances that quench excited states. Notably, DOM introduced ice-specific oxidative pathways of hydrophilic antibiotics, which altered their toxicity profiles and complicated toxicity trends toward Vibrio fischeri. These findings highlight the critical role of ice-phase photochemistry in cold regions, influencing antibiotic fate, transformation pathways, and ecological risks.
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