Dark matter search with XENON1T

Most matter in the universe consists of 'dark matter' unknown to particle physics. Deep underground detectors such as XENON1T attempt to detect rare collisions of dark matter with ordinary atoms. This thesis describes the first dark matter search of XENON1T, how dark matter signals would appear in the detector, and the statistical techniques used in the search. The final chapters set world-leading constraints on the cross-section with which dark and normal matter interact

Scenarios and enhanced, strategies, Case study The Hague Region, the Netherlands

In the PLUREL Analysis report on The Hague Region (Aalbers et al 2009), the region is described with respect to history, landuse, planning context, actors and their strategies regarding developments in the urban fringe. Three strategies are described in more depth. In the current phase of the research, these strategies are assessed with respect to their performance in governance

Alliance-to-acquisition transitions:The technological performance implications of acquiring one's alliance partners

Drawing on organizational learning theory, we investigate the technological performance implications of acquiring one's alliance partners. We do so using a sample of 252 firms in four high tech industries, who jointly announced 2,398 acquisitions and filed 125,440 new patent applications, in the period of our analysis. We argue a history of collaboration will allow the acquirer to more easily identify and absorb the target's knowledge, and show that the share of 'alliance-to-acquisition transitions', in the total set of the firm's acquisitions, increases the firm's inventive quantity. We also argue that a history of collaboration reduces the opportunity to encounter unknown and unexpected knowledge, which will affect both the type and quality of invention. We find support for the former, and show that the share of alliance-to-acquisition transitions increases the firms exploitative tendencies. In terms of the latter, we find a weak relationship between the share of transitions and overall patent quality, but find that the share of transitions does not affect the number of high quality breakthrough inventions. In so doing, we provide new insights, relevant to the acquisition literature, the literature on transitional governance, and the literature on organisational learning, and position alliance-to-acquisition transitions as a mechanism for altering the firm's technology production function

Advancements in adeno-associated viral gene therapy approaches: exploring a new horizon

Gene therapy is a promising new therapeutic strategy that has been explored in a wide variety of diseases, ranging from cancer to hemophilia, and ocular disorders to autoimmune diseases, among others. Proof of concept of gene transfer approaches has been shown in over 100 studies of animal models of disease, although only a few are under development for clinical application. The US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency have not approved any viral human gene therapy products for sale so far, but the amount of gene-related research and development occurring in the United States and Europe continues to grow at a fast rate. This review summarizes the current status of developments in the field of viral gene therapy using adeno-associated virus as a vector, with a special focus on arthritis. For rheumatoid arthritis, and to a lesser extent for other immune-related inflammatory disorders, several cell and gene transfer approaches have been investigated at the preclinical level and a few have been implemented in clinical trials. Finally, both the potential and the hurdles that are faced during development of a viral gene therapy through to its clinical application are discussed

FlameNEST: explicit profile likelihoods with the Noble Element Simulation Technique

We present FlameNEST, a framework providing explicit likelihood evaluations in noble element particle detectors using data-driven models from the Noble Element Simulation Technique. FlameNEST provides a way to perform statistical analyses on real data with no dependence on large, computationally expensive Monte Carlo simulations by evaluating the likelihood on an event-by-event basis using analytic probability elements convolved together in a single TensorFlow multiplication. Furthermore, this robust framework creates opportunities for simple inter-collaboration analyses which will be fundamental for the future of experimental dark matter physics

Sturen op duurzame ontwikkeling van stadsranden : lessen uit 7 regio’s in Europa en China

In 2005 nam Alterra het initiatief tot een geïntegreerd Europees onderzoek naar stadsranden, PLUREL. Dit project onderzocht stadsrandgebieden van zes Europese regio's en een regio in China. Voor de Europese regio's zijn de strategieën en ruimtelijke planningen bekeken. Het gaat om de regio's Haaglanden, Leipzig-Halle, Koper, Greater Manchester, Montpellier, Warschau en voor China: Hangzho

An Assessment Of The Climate At Greenwood Elementary School, Des Moines, Iowa

78 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Richard BrooksThe problem. There are a number of varied populations that a single school community finds itself attempting to serve. Students, parents, central administration, teachers and other staff members have different perspectives, thoughts and concerns regarding their school. This study is designed to determine present group perceptions in a given school community. Procedures. The CFK Ltd. School Climate Profile was administered to students, parents, central administration, teachers and other staff members associated with or served by this school. Responses to the profile questionnaire by these various groups comprise the data for this study. An analysis of variance for the differences between means of the five groups on both "What Is" and "What Should Be" was run by the Computer Center at Drake University. Differences between means of "What Is" and "What Should Be" in the combined groups with the t being the test statistic was also run by the Center. The Scheffe Method was used to compare differences between pairs of means in the area where the analysis of variance was significant. Findings. In comparing the mean differences between groups in responses to climate characteristics for "What Is" there appeared to be eight pairs of means that were significantly different. The Scheffe Method of Comparison was used to compare the eight significantly different pairs of means and for the item characteristic of effective teaching and learning strategies "What Is" there was a significant difference between means for teachers and students with the students viewing this characteristic more positive than teachers. The results or comparing differences between means for "What Is" and "What Should Be" across all groups indicate that there is a significant difference between the "What Is" and "What Should be". The direction of difference is that the "What Should Be" mean across all groups was greater than the "What Is" mean across all groups. Conclusions. There is very little difference in how the previously mentioned groups perceive the climate at Greenwood School. The climate is perceived by the various groups as being good but not ideal. Teachers are more critical of their effectiveness than any of the other groups and administrators are the most positive about the school's climate

Molecular and immunological characterization of profilin from mugwort pollen

In late summer in Europe, pollen of mugwort is one of the major sources of atopic allergens. No information about the complete molecular structure of any mugwort allergen has been published so far. Here we report the isolation and characterization of mugwort pollen cDNA clones coding for two isoforms of the panallergen profilin. Thirtysix percent of the mugwort allergic patients tested displayed IgE antibodies against natural and recombinant profilin, and no significant differences were observed in the IgEbinding properties of the isoforms. One profilin isoform was purified to homogeneity and detailed structural analysis indicated that the protein exists in solution as dimers and tetramers stabilized by sulfydryl and/or ionic interactions. Profilin monomers were detectable only after exposure of multimers to harsh denaturing conditions. Dimers and tetramers did not significantly differ in their ability to bind serum IgE from mugwort pollenallergic patients. However, oligomeric forms might have a higher allergenic potential than monomers because larger molecules would have additional epitopes for IgEmediated histamine release. Profilin isolated from mugwort pollen also formed multimers. Thus, oligomerization is not an artifact resulting from the recombinant production of the allergen. Inhibition experiments showed extensive IgE crossreactivity of recombinant mugwort profilin and profilin from various pollen and food extracts